


A Sunless Garden

by AnneLilian



Series: Sunless Garden Universe [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Slow Burn, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-12 06:25:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 69,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3346862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnneLilian/pseuds/AnneLilian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Getting sick of Oliver's misbehavior, his parents send him to a boarding school for the extremely rich in southern Nevada. When his grades are failing even there, he is left with no choice but to get tutored. Luckily for him, resident genius Felicity Smoak comes to the rescue. Eventual Olicity. Several OCs</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Previously posted on Fanfiction.Net  
> This will probably not be updated regularly, but I will try. I'm planning on taking this all the way through to seasons 1 and 2.

Chapter 1:

Everybody kept telling him it was his own damn fault. But how was he supposed to know that the one cop in town who wouldn’t let it go, would be the one to arrest him? Of course it had to be Laurel’s dad who arrived first at the scene. He probably just did it because Oliver had recently started dating her. He had probably known that Oliver’s dad was planning this…

“Ollie, you’re making your scary face again,” Thea complained. The eight-year old brunette was sitting next to him on the Queen family jet. It was a small jet, but it served its purpose, even though Oliver was cursing that purpose right now.

He forced a grin for his sister’s sake. “I’m sorry, Speedy. I’m pissed that dad’s making me leave,” he said.

“Oliver, mind your language,” his mother scolded mildly from where she sat a few yards ahead. Oliver just stick out his tongue at her back.

“Do you have to leave?” Thea asked in a whisper. Sure Oliver was pissed at his dad, but he didn’t regret stealing that keg of beer for his friends. The only thing he regretted was having to leave his little sister. Which only served to make him even more pissed at his dad. And mom hadn’t even protested this dumb idea!

“Tell you what, I’ll make sure to get kicked out of this school in no time, and make dad send me somewhere closer to home. In the meantime just be as annoying as I know you can be, and maybe they’ll let me come home.”

Instead of smiling, as had been his intention, Thea just nodded solemnly, a sad look on her face.

“Hey now, who’s the superhero in the family?” he asked.

“I am?” she asked more than answered. It had been their little game ever since she was little. She’d pretend to be a superhero and he’d be the villain. Of course she beat him every single time because she was so damn quick on her feet. Hence the nickname.

“Yes, you are. And superheroes are brave, remember?” She nodded. “Besides, I’ll be home in no time,” he said with a cocky grin. Finally, the little girl managed a smile, and threw her arms around her brother’s waist.

“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, so quietly he’d almost missed it.

Oliver wasn’t sure what to say to that. He’d already told her that he didn’t want to go, what more could he do? He opened his mouth to mutter some more platitudes, but was interrupted by the pilot’s voice on the intercom.

“We’re approaching the landing strip. Please fasten your seatbelts.”

Oliver’s dad came out of the cabin and sat down next to his wife, steering clear of his children. Good, Oliver thought bitterly, He should stay away from me.

Ten minutes later, the plane was on the ground, and Oliver was contemplating what would happen if he simply refused to get off the plane. In the end, Thea’s scared face was the only thing that made him cooperate. For all their arguing, he really loved his little sister. 

They all got off the plane, followed by two men carrying Oliver’s baggage. They were met by a blonde woman standing next to two black SUVs. She looked like a secretary to Oliver, so he paid her no mind. The airstrip was small, and surrounded by the desert. Who in their right mind builds a school in the desert anyway? If he hadn’t been in such a sour mood, he might have thought it beautiful, but now all he could see and feel were the negative sides of this place. The heat pressed down onto him and the air tasted funny.  
When they reached the woman, Oliver’s parents shook her hand in turn. “Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Queen. My name is Melinda Brightley, I’m the vice principal, we exchanged emails,” she informed them. Huh. Not a secretary, then. She motioned them all to get into the cars and they set off for a drive. Thea and Oliver were in one car, accompanied only by a silent driver, while his parents, Ms. Brightley and another driver were in the first car. Oliver could only imagine what his parents were telling the deputy about his misbehavior.

It took about fifteen minutes before the school came into view. And it was quite a view. The school was founded in 1873 – as his mother had told him a few million times – and was the most prestigious school in the South-West of the United States. It was certainly the most expensive. When commiserating with his friends back in Starling over his fate, one of them pointed out that this was the kind of school you only got into when you were a millionaire. Or billionaire, in his case.

The building looked old, but very well maintained. He could imagine the inside being a perfect combination of the old with the new. There was no sign of a desert here, the entire property was lush with green grass, parks and trees. Oliver had to admit it looked impressive.

He was still determined to hate it, though.

They pulled into a garage that held another ten or twelve identical vehicles. Of course a school like this wouldn’t use school buses… With a smile, Ms. Brightley led them to an elevator and up four floors. Just like he’d imagined, the halls were furnished with antique-looking furniture and very modern security measures.

Thea clung to Oliver’s hand as they made their way to the vice principal’s office. Once inside, she asked their parents to sit in the huge chairs in front of her desk. Looking at him and Thea, she knelt so that she was at eye-level with the little girl. “How would you like to explore the school with your brother? We just got a new foal in the stables, maybe you can start there?” she asked gently.

She got points for talking to Thea like she was a lot older than she was. He was also unable to resist that wide-eyed stare she was giving the deputy.

Ms. Brightley looked up to smile at Oliver. “My assistant is outside, he’ll show you the way. You have access to everything except the security building, and your sister can use all of our facilities for the day. The ice cream in the food court is exquisite,” she said with a wink.

Even though Oliver actually thought she was pretty nice, he rolled his eyes for show and took his sister outside. Let the adults gossip.

/*/

“We’ll come visit really soon,” Thea promised as she clung to Oliver’s waist. She was doing her best to hold in tears, and Oliver suspected that the only reason she succeeded was because she’d had such a great time that day. She’d seen the foal, ridden a pony, visited the aquarium they had, and had eaten an ice cream. She’d also insisted on visiting Oliver’s room – that he was forced to share, what kind of a private school was this anyway?

Thea had proclaimed Foxville Collegiate Academy the coolest ever – yes, with that inflexion – and had said that that was the only reason she was allowing him to stay there. Sometimes, his little sister really amused Oliver.

“It’ll be okay, Speedy, I’ll get kicked out before you know it. They can’t handle a party animal like me,” he joked, stroking her hair.

Thea sniffed, but finally let her big brother go. “I’ll miss you. Call me?”

He grinned. “Every day. You’ll get sick of hearing my voice.”

Thea nodded solemnly and went over to their mother. She’d given him a hug and a kiss earlier. His father came to stand before him. Oliver knew that it was his mom’s fault as much as his dad’s that he was getting sent here, but dad had been the one to offer the suggestion, so he bore the brunt of Oliver’s anger.

“I hope you’ll be miserable,” he said, without the venom he’d intended to say it with.

His dad smiled sadly. “I know you can’t see it yet, Oliver, but I think this is going to be good for you. And I hear Malcolm might send Tommy here after Christmas. You can still graduate together.”

Oliver refused to look at him. If he thought that this was going to placate him… “Oliver, I…” his dad trailed off. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Ms. Brightley said that students are allowed to keep their phones and use them after school hours.”

And with that, his dad just left, taking his mom and sister with him. Oliver wanted to shout, to scream for them not to leave him here. For all his bravado, he was afraid of being here alone.

The assistant who had shown Oliver and Thea around earlier, led him back to the dorms and handed him his school schedule. It was early October, so school had started weeks ago. He really hated new schools. He usually walked in like he owned the place, which would set his reputation for the rest of the year. Mostly, people let him do whatever, since his family was one of the richest in the country. Next to the Wayne kid in Gotham, he was the richest kid his age in the US.

He sighed as he entered his new room. Well… calling it a room was really not doing it justice. It was basically like a large hotel room. It had its own bathroom, and a spacious living room. The beds were queen sized four poster beds on either side of the room.

When he’d first seen it with Thea, the room had been empty, but now a boy was lounging on the other bed. He had straight dark hair that reached just short of his shoulders and hid his eyes. He was wearing a jersey in the school colors – green and silver – and loose-fitting jeans.

When Oliver closed the door, the guy looked up. “You must be the new kid who’s intruding on my space…” he said, looking Oliver up and down with narrowed eyes.  
“I’m Oliver Queen,” Oliver said with a confident smile, walking over to his bed slowly. He knew this dance inside and out. He and Tommy had perfected it over the years of getting kicked out of schools.

The guy laughed. “No kidding, Oliver Queen?” he said, his entire demeanor changing. He got up from his bed and ambled over. “My name’s Dean Brightley.”

Oliver frowned as he set his backpack down. “Brightley? Like Melinda Brightley? You her kid?” he asked curiously.

Dean made a face. “Eew, no, she’s my aunt.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and bouncing on his toes. 

Oliver decided to screw with his new roommate. “She’s kinda hot,” he commented, turning back to his stuff. She had been beautiful, he supposed, but she was old, and he so didn’t do cougars.

Dean gagged. “Gross, dude, she’s like thirty! And she’s my aunt!”

Oliver laughed, relief filling him. At least he wouldn’t have to share a room with a douche. “Just kidding, dude.”

“Besides,” Dean went on, “there’s plenty of hot chicks on campus.” He was wearing a confident grin that reminded Oliver just enough of Tommy’s that he felt a small pang in his chest. 

“Really?” he said, interested. Technically, he was dating Laurel, but… what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, would it?

Dean slung an arm around Oliver’s shoulders. “I think you and I are going to get along just fine, my friend.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

As it turned out, Dean and Oliver did get along pretty well, and Dean did know the popular crowd. Oliver was quickly admitted in their midst, being one of the richest kids at school, and just likeable. To a certain crowd at least.

The school wasn’t horrible, even though his parents had talked to his counsellor about his schedule. He was now taking business, like, as a class. Thea demanded that he learn how to ride horseback, but Oliver said he’d leave that to her. He was tempted to join the football or basketball team, but he’d never been much of a jock. Dean, on the other hand, was captain of the basketball team, and very proud of it. 

Aside from business, his parents had forced him into taking chemistry, biology, trigonometry, management and world history. He had to take English lit, of course, which left him with no room to do anything he actually liked.

The only thing he really looked forward to were the Saturday morning helicopter flying lessons. Yeah, this school had flying lessons.

It had been a week since he transferred to FCA, and he was already flunking half his classes. Surprisingly, management and business were not among them.

He was in the middle of a really annoying world history assignment when his teacher interrupted him. “Mr. Queen.” Oliver looked up, relieved to get a reprieve from his work. “Ms. Brightley requests your presence in her office.”

…Then again, what was a little essay anyway? It wasn’t the first time he’d been sent to the office of an authority figure, but he really couldn’t figure out what he’d done this time. 

He hadn’t even started on his plans to get expelled so he could get back to Starling. He missed Laurel, and Tommy and all his other friends, and Thea… Hell, he even missed his parents. 

When he got to the office, he walked in and closed the door behind me. “Out,” Ms. Brightley said without looking up from the document she’d been reading.

Oliver was confused. “But you asked for me!” he protested, feeling a little annoyed.

Ms. Brightley looked up. “Yes, and I expect you to knock next time, Mr. Queen. Now get out and do it again.”

Oliver sighed in frustration and stomped out, closing the door behind him. He took a deep breath and knocked. “Come in,” Ms. Brightley called.

When Oliver walked back in, she was reading the document again, and didn’t even deign to look up. It annoyed him to no end. He was used to being the center of attention, of everyone looking at him, and this woman didn’t even seem interested!

He considered dropping down into one of the chairs in front of her desk, but figured she’d just make him stand up again, so he remained standing, his hands in his pockets. “Take a seat, Mr. Queen,” she said eventually, putting the paper away.

As Oliver sat down, he had the distinct feeling he’d just passed a test. “You’re failing some of your classes, Mr. Queen,” Brightley stated.

Oliver winced. He really didn’t want to talk about that. “Mr. Queen’s my dad, I’m just Oliver,” he said instead, hoping to change the subject.

“You’re going to have to get used to people calling you that eventually… Oliver,” she said, conceding with a smile.

He relaxed somewhat. Brightley wasn’t the worst. There were definite tyrants at this school, but she wasn’t one of them. Oliver shrugged at her statement. It didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t comfortable with the title yet.

Brightley leaned back in her chair, studying Oliver. “Did you know we have scholarship students at this school?” she asked, completely changing the subject.

It surprised Oliver somewhat, a school this elite, allowing non-millionaires into the facility? “No, I didn’t,” he replied to her question.

“Well, we do. We only allow three to enter every year, and only the best and brightest are allowed in. It’s a… pet project of mine, if you will.” Where was she going with this? “One of the students that is currently enrolled is one of my own students.”

Oliver knew that Brightley taught private lessons to the particularly gifted kids at the school, but he could never tell what it was, exactly, that she was teaching. Dean had never been very interested, so he wasn’t a well of information either. “So?” he asked, curious as to what her goal was with this.

Brightley smiled, but it had a distinct smugness to it. Instead of answering his question, she pressed a button on her phone that went straight to her assistant’s phone. “Send her in.”

Oliver frowned at the deputy. What the hell? He turned around when the door opened. A petite, brunette girl with a ponytail and glasses walked in. She was dressed in a button-down that was closed all the way to the top, and wore a knee-length skirt. All in all, he wasn’t impressed. “You needed me Ms. Brightley,” she asked, her attention solely on the vice principal. Oliver did catch the sneak glance she had thrown his way when she’d first entered.

“Yes, Felicity, this is Oliver, he’s failing some of his classes.”

Felicity seemed on guard as she stood in front of the desk. “Which classes?” she asked cautiously.

“Chemistry, biology and trigonometry. He’s scraping by in world history,” Brightley answered. Oliver refused to blush at her frank statement of his grades. Nobody wants to hear about how they failed.

Felicity pursed her lips, and she suddenly seemed a lot older than Oliver had originally thought. He’d guessed she was fourteen, maybe fifteen, but she looked closer to seventeen now. “I’ve already talked to his parents, and they’ve agreed,” Brightley said. “Wait, what?” Oliver exclaimed. She’d talked to his parents? What did they agree to?

“Okay,” Felicity said, and finally turned to Oliver. “Meet me in the library after school, we’ll work on it,” she said, maybe a little nervously.

She glanced at the vice principal, who nodded in response. “Thank you Felicity, you can go back to class now.”

Oliver looked back and forth between the brunette and the teacher. He didn’t understand what was going on. Ms. Brightley smiled at Oliver. She was probably enjoying this…

“Felicity has just agreed to tutor you after school, Oliver. She should be able to help you get your grades up.”

Oliver frowned and crossed his arms. “What if I don’t want to get my grades up?”

Brightley pursed her lips and leaned forward in her chair. “Right now, you have two options, Oliver. You can accept Felicity’s help, graduate and do whatever you want in college… Or you can flunk half your classes and get to stay here for another year.”

“When I’m eighteen I can do what I want,” he argued, but it more for show than any real conviction. The calculation he saw in Brightley’s eyes told him she knew that too.

“Sure, you can. You can drop out and party as much as you want. And then what? Even your parents won’t let you live off their fortune forever, Oliver.” Brightley sighed, got up and walked around her desk to lean against it. “You’re not stupid, Oliver. Your business teacher tells me that your insights are clever and outside the box, your management teacher thinks that you natural talent and that you grasp abstract concepts much more quickly than some of your peers. All that, and the behavior I’ve observed myself proves that you’re a bright kid. A little bit of effort from your side will go a very long way.”

Oliver didn’t reply. None of his teachers had ever thought that way about him, most just assumed he was a rich slacker and left him to his own devices.

“Think about it,” Ms. Brightley suggested, and moved back around her desk. It felt like a dismissal, so Oliver got up and moved to the door. “If you accept, your teachers will grade your work on a curve until Christmas break, to give you some time to catch up…” Brightley looked him over, a tiny smile that almost looked smug curving her lips. “I believe Felicity told you where to meet her.”

/*/

Oliver didn’t go straight back to class. He’d been dismissed from it, he was going to take advantage of it for as long as he could.

Truthfully, he really didn’t want to be one of those kids who dropped out the minute they turned eighteen, and neither did he want to spend an extra year in high school… That left him with practically no choice but to accept Brightley’s offer. 

How hard could it be? He wasn’t failing that badly: he had high D’s in both chemistry and biology. Trig was going to be a little more difficult, with the string of F’s on every piece of homework. He sighed. He really had no choice. He really hoped this Felicity chick was as good as Brightley said…

/*/

**Felicity POV**

Felicity was waiting in the library after her last class. She knew Oliver had trig last, so it would take a while to get from that classroom to the library, but she was impatient. In all honesty, she didn’t have a very high opinion of Oliver Queen. He was a slacker, unbelievably rich, spoilt, and probably also completely ungrateful. And she’d be surprised if he even showed up.

She was interrupted from her internal rant when a bag was slung into the seat across from her. Oliver Queen stood behind the chair somewhat uncomfortably. 

"Oliver, you came," she said in surprise.

Oliver frowned. Felicity blushed, realizing how rude she was being. “Not that I wanted to imply that you wouldn’t come, I mean, you obviously need help-” she cut herself off as she realized she wasn’t making this any better. “What I meant to say,” she tried again, speaking slower for both their benefits, “was hi, and, take a seat. We’ll start with trigonometry.”

Oliver shrugged again and sat down across from her, a resentful look on his face. Felicity wet her lips and hoped she’d survive this whole tutoring thing.

“So what is it exactly you’re struggling with?” she asked brightly, hoping to keep the mood up as she flipped through her own book from last year. When he didn’t answer, she looked up at him. He didn’t look happy. “Everything. Okay,” she muttered to herself, turning to the first page.

Oliver leaned his head on his hand, looking for all the world like he’d prefer to be anywhere else. Felicity clenched her jaw and reminded herself that his parents were paying her quite a bit of money to make sure their son got at least a B. She took a deep breath and pulled out a blank piece of paper.

She was aware of Oliver frowning at her in confusion as she drew a triangle, added the length of one of the sides and two of the angles. She named the two unknown sides a and b, and looked back up to Oliver.

“What the law of sine helps you do, is figure out everything about this triangle, with just the data that’s there. Let’s just say that this side here is two, and that these corners are 45 and 30 degrees. Now the first thing you need to do is figure out how big this other corner is.”

Oliver kept looking at the triangle, but didn’t look like he was about to offer an answer. Ms. Brightley had assured her that Oliver was smarter than he let on, which was the only reason she’d even taken the offer of tutoring. Maybe she needed to find a different approach?

“You know the best thing about math?” she asked, her eyes on the page, drawing over the lines and numbers that were already there.

Oliver was frowning at her again. She didn’t think he wanted to say anything, but she needed him to say something. He sighed, probably in frustration. “What?” he asked eventually, sounding a little bored.

Felicity smiled at him. “It has laws, rules it can’t break. People aren’t that easy, they’re all different and they follow their own rules to an extent. It’s much harder to figure people out than math, Oliver, but you seem to have grasped the former concept perfectly.”

Again, he frowned at her in confusion, but she didn’t expect him to say anything anymore. She turned back to the page. The whole reason she’d said that in the first place. “The thing about triangles is that the corners always add up to the same number.” She looked at him expectantly.

“180,” he said. He’d hesitated, but she suspected it wasn’t because he didn’t know the answer.

Nodding, she picked up her pencil again. “Right, so if you know that, you can figure out how big the angle is, right?”

Oliver rolled his eyes, but got a pencil out and neatly wrote: 180-75=105. She grinned. She knew he wasn’t dumb!

Their lesson continued mostly like that. Felicity explained everything, Oliver listened, and occasionally wrote down the answer, mostly when she made him. They were making great progress, though. He had quickly grasped what the law of sine was about and solved minor problems without difficulty.

He’d also forgotten to hang on to his surly attitude about halfway through. He still hadn’t said much, but he didn’t frown as often, and he’d nodded as she talked. Felicity felt like they were making real progress here.

“We’ve been working on trig for almost an hour now,” Felicity said, looking at her phone. “Maybe we can try some-” She was interrupted by Oliver’s ringtone, which he hastened to answer. "Yes?"

"...chemistry?" she finished her question under her breath.

He put the phone against his shoulder and looked at her. “I have to take this, it’s a friend from Starling,” he said, got up, and walked a few paces away. 

Felicity sighed, but inwardly told herself that they’d pick it up tomorrow. She packed her books away and put the exercises they’d worked on in Oliver’s binder. He'd done more than she expected today. At the least, that was a start.

/*/

**Oliver POV**

“Hey Tommy, how’s everything going in Starling?” Oliver asked with a grin. He and Tommy talked about every other day – Dean often joked that he talked to Tommy more than Laurel – but it was still great to hear from him.

“Oh, you know, same old, same old.”

“How’d your date go?” he asked, still grinning. He knew Tommy hated referring to it as ‘dates’, since he was never serious about the girl in question. He was a hopeless romantic deep down inside.

“Urgh,” was his eloquent reply.

“That bad?” Oliver was shushed by a librarian-looking person, so he walked out and sat down on a bench in the hallway.

“She was completely juvenile. I was tempted to ask if she had a bedtime at 9. There are less and less good fish to catch down here. How about over there, anyone I should know about?”

Oliver rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Not yet. Besides, I’m with Laurel, remember?”

Tommy snorted. “Yeah, like that’s ever stopped you. Come on, give me the juice, there must be some hot girls over there.”

Laughing, Oliver ran a hand through his hair. “There are. Man, you should see them. Speaking of, has your dad made a decision yet?” he asked, genuinely curious now.

Tommy sighed. “I’m sorry man, dad got it into his thick head that I needed more stability, so he doesn’t want me going off to school in a different state. If you ask me he just doesn’t trust me and wants to keep an eye on me.”

“Oh come on!” Oliver groaned. “This is a school for rich kids, it has the best security in the world, and it’s about as snobbish as you can get. I mean, the colors are _emerald and titanium_. We even have a freaking titanium bird in the entrance hall, complete with infrared beams and a pressure plate. What more does he want?”

“To make my life miserable?” Tommy suggested. “But hey, you’ll be back over Christmas break, right?”

“As long as I don’t pull anything too stupid off, yeah. Mom threatened to leave me here if I misbehave,” Oliver replied, stretching his legs in front of him. Suddenly, Felicity was standing next to him, looking a little sheepish. 

“Hey, dude, I need to go, I’m meeting Dean later. Talk to you later.”

“Okay, bye!” Tommy replied and hung up, leaving Oliver alone in the hallway with Felicity.

“Hi. You left your bag in there, and I was about to go, but I figured you wouldn’t want to leave it there unguarded. Not that anyone would steal anything, security’s too tight, trust me, I hacked into it myself, and-”

"Felicity,” Oliver interrupted, unable to keep a small smile from pulling at his lips. She was odd, but it was at the very least amusing to watch her flail once she started babbling.

“Right, sorry. Your bag,” she said, holding the item out. Oliver graciously took it from her, offering a smile in thanks. “Was that a friend?” she asked.

She seemed genuinely curious, and it wasn’t like it was a secret, so Oliver told her. “Yeah, that was Tommy Merlyn, he’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember.”

“Merlyn? Like Merlyn Global?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Yeah, his dad’s the founder and CEO. He was supposed to come here after Christmas, but Mr. Merlyn decided he didn’t want that,” he said, maybe a little resentfully.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking like she really meant it. “I should get going, I promised my roommate I’d help her with something. I’ll see you tomorrow after class again?” she asked.

Oliver nodded. Felicity smiled again, turned and walked away down the hall. She was a little odd, and Oliver couldn’t quite figure her out, but she might not be too bad. There was something about her…


	3. Chapter 3

** Chapter 3: **

Oliver kept going to the tutoring sessions, and even started participating a little more. Felicity still had a tendency to babble, which was amusing to say the least, and also served to put him at ease. He even started making jokes.

“How come you’re such a genius anyway?” he asked her one day while they were working through some chemistry equations.

Felicity shrugged. “It comes naturally. Sort of like your charm, probably.” He was sure she’d meant it innocently, but she blushed furiously nonetheless. Before she could start to babble, though, he interrupted her.

“I _am_ devilishly charming, aren’t I? It’s no wonder girls are falling all over themselves trying to get me to go out with them.” He put his hands behind his head and leaned his chair back on two legs.

Felicity rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure they only want you to take them to the Halloween fair, your reputation is well known, even down here,” she said drolly.

Oliver frowned. “What fair?” he asked, putting his chair back.

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, probably trying to figure out if he was messing with her. “The Halloween fair. It’s one of the oldest traditions at FCA,” she said eventually. “We have Spirit Week, but instead of homecoming, we have the Halloween fair. There are a lot of parents who pour insane amounts of money into it, so I’ve heard it’s pretty cool.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve heard? Haven’t you ever gone?”

“I’ve only been going here for a little over a year. I didn’t really have friends last time, so I skipped it. It looked pretty spectacular, though. My roommate and I are going as Banshees,” she replied with a grin.

“A what?” he asked, completely confused. He’d noticed all the goings-on, of course, but he’d guessed they just had more elaborate decorations at this school. But costumes, really?

“It’s a mythical creature, they’re like evil faeries who start to wail when someone is about to die. Some say hearing one will actually cause you to die, especially if you’re a guy,” she said with a wicked grin.

Oliver laughed. “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Uhuh, it’s my favorite holiday,” she said, starting to pack her stuff up. It wasn’t like they were going to do anything productive anymore anyway.

“Seriously? I’d think it’d be Christmas, like the rest of the world.”

“Nah, I’m Jewish, and while Chanukah is fun, this is Halloween! You get to dress up and scare people!” She said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and waiting for Oliver to do the same.

“I wouldn’t have figured you for a horror fan,” he said, looking at her curiously. He preceded her out of the library, but hung behind once they were outside. He was loath to admit it, but he didn’t want his friends to spot him talking to Felicity. Not that he was ashamed of being seen with her, but… she was different, and someone he wanted to keep to himself for now.

“Oh god, no, I get nightmares if I watch a horror move, but Halloween is just harmless fun. You get to pretend to be someone you’re not.” She stopped next to him, only a few feet from the library entrance. She looked so innocent, standing there with her big, blue eyes. “Anyway,” she continued. “You’d better find a costume soon, and a date. The tickets are cheaper if you go in pairs.” She rolled her eyes at that. “I swear, this school is trying to convince young, malleable people that being alone is not okay, and that you must always have someone on your arm. It’s almost like a competition.”

“So do you have someone to go with?” As soon as she said it, he realized what it sounded like and wished he could take it back. There was no way he was going to a social gathering with Felicity. She was great and all, but really not a people person.

She cocked her head at him, like she was figuring out a puzzle before shrugging. “I told you, I’m going with my roommate. Neither of us has been asked, so we figured we’d go together. It’s not like they can stop us. The school is trying to make this whole statement about supporting the LGBTQ community, so for the first time ever, they’re not banning same-sex couples. Not that my roommate and I- because we’re not, we’re just friends! We’re just… sort of taking advantage of the situation, you know?” she said rapidly, blushing.

Oliver grinned at her, amused at her babbling. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a date.” He was also very relieved that she hadn’t taken his question as an offer. He’d really hate to have to turn her down. “And I’ll order a costume, I’ll be ready in no time!”

Felicity smiled back, looking mildly relieved that he’d just ignored her babbling. “Just don’t be a cliché, there are always a dozen vampires, skeletons and zombies running around,” she said, inching in the direction of the girl’s dorm as she checked her phone. “I really have to go, Oliver. Kate, my roommate isn’t really known for her patience.”

“Are we still studying tomorrow?”

“Of course, why not?” she asked, looking mildly confused.

“Because tomorrow’s Saturday, and they’re holding an introductory flying lesson,” he replied with a grin.

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him. “ You’re going to take a flying class?” she asked doubtfully.

Oliver grinned back, unperturbed. “Yup, helicopter. It’s the only thing in this school that I’m actually interested in. The only thing my parents aren’t forcing me into.”

Rolling her eyes, Felicity adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “Well, let me know how it goes. I guess we can get back to studying on Monday.” She glared at him, then, pointing an accusing finger at his face. “But if you have a hangover or miss your classes because you partied too hard, I’m going to hack into everything I can find and delete you from every database the government keeps,” she warned.

Oliver’s eyebrows shot up. “Uhm, okay. Thanks?” he replied, struggling to hide his amusement. She really was one of a kind.

Felicity dropped the finger, and turned on her heel. “See you on Monday, Oliver,” she called over her shoulder cheerfully.

Oliver still had a grin on his face when he reached his dorm room.

/*/

**Felicity POV**

“What? But, Kate-!” Felicity protested.

“I’m really sorry, Lissa, but it’s Cody! I’ve been trying to get him to ask me out for half a year!” Kate answered as she put on her earrings.

“But we were going to go as banshees together…” she pouted, slouching down into her favorite poufy chair.

Katie looked over with a guilty look on her face. “I’m really, really sorry, Liss. You can still go like that, I don’t mind,” she said with feigned cheer. Felicity knew her friend felt really sorry for her, and she understood, but it still hurt.

“I can’t, it’s a pair. It would be like wearing an ‘I’m with stupid’ shirt and not having anyone wear the ‘stupid’ shirt,” she replied a little morosely.

Kate came over and hugged her. “You could come with us, I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Felicity looked at her friend incredulously. “Come with you on your first date? No thanks, I don’t need to feel any more like a third wheel than I already do.” She sighed. “Can I borrow your costume from last year? I don’t have the time or money to get another costume, and I think I can modify yours to fit me.”

Kate beamed. “Of course you can! And I’ll do the adjusting, it’s the least I can do for being such a horrible friend!”

Felicity managed a smile. “You’re not a horrible friend. But I’ll take you up on adjusting the costume. You’re the fashionista of the two of us.”

“Yay! Okay, I’ll go dig it out of my closet,” she said, and skipped off.

Felicity sighed again and leaned back in her chair. This is what she cut her tutoring sessions short for?

She looked over to where Katie was literally digging into a box in her huge walk-in closet. They’d met when Felicity first got into the school, and, at first, Felicity was not happy to be sharing a room with a millionaire’s daughter. She’d been sure that Katherine McMillian would be a complete brat, complete with daddy-issues and being spoilt. And they hadn’t gotten along right away. Kate wasn’t exactly the most popular girl in school, though that came as quite the surprise to Felicity. She was the daughter of a hobby-chef and a fashion designer, and her daddy-issues stemmed from the fact that she only had dads.

They’d gotten off to a rocky start, both of them had prejudices that they’d had to work through, but when Felicity had found Kate crying in their room one day, those seemed to vanish into thin air. She’d hacked the computer of the guy who’d broken her heart and had cheated on her, and wreaked havoc. Katie and Felicity had been best friends ever since.

“I’m doing your hair too, by the way,” Kate called from the inside of her closet. By now, she had several items of clothing slung over her shoulders, and a dozen more on the ground around her.

Felicity smiled. Even though Katie was sort of abandoning her, she was still a great friend.

/*/

**Oliver POV**

The week leading up to the Halloween fair was a flurry of activity. Most classes revolved around some kind of Halloween-ish theme, because the teachers couldn’t get the students to concentrate on anything else. It got so bad that several teachers released their students early on Friday night to get ready. Last period had been cancelled either way, but it was still a relief to Oliver to get out of Chem half an hour earlier.

He met up with Dean in the main hall and went back to their dorm. His costume had been ordered, tailored to his specifications, and delivered within the week. He really loved being rich.

Oliver quickly got into costume, which, luckily didn’t take much time. He was grateful that the temperature was going to be in the eighties that night, or he’d definitely end up shivering.

As he was putting the finishing touches on his outfit – he had to look his best that night – Dean approached him. “All set for tonight?” he asked, a smirk playing at the edge of his mouth.

Oliver grinned back at his friend. “It’ll definitely be a memorable Halloween.”

“Make sure everything is set, you don’t want to miss the ball on this one, you’ll never live it down,” Dean commented as he pulled on his cloak. He was going as the cliché vampire that Felicity had warned Oliver about. In hindsight, he was glad he’d chosen something more original.

Oliver grabbed the last piece of his costume, mentally went over everything that was supposed to happen tonight, and followed Dean out the door. They both had to pick up their dates at the girls dorm, and make sure they had a good spot near the stage for the kick-off.

/*/

**Felicity POV**

“I don’t know about this, Katie, I’m not sure it’s me…” Felicity said, looking at herself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror in their room.

Katie rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s not you, it’s Halloween! You’re supposed to look like someone else! And besides, you look totally hot, Lissa.”

Felicity bit her lip, still feeling more than a little unsure. “Couldn’t I have just gone as the Doctor or something? I’d be so much more comfortable,” she complained, tugging at the straps of her dress.

Katie slapped her hand away. “Would you quit squirming? You look fantastic, and it’ll be great. Erica and Stephanie are going solo too, and they said they’d meet us at the stage. Cody was nice enough to offer to escort the both of us,” she said as she put on some more lip gloss.

As much as Felicity had been squirming and fidgeting, Katie had been almost worse. Her first date with Cody was a big thing, she’d had a crush on him for almost two years. He’d been clueless the whole time, of course. Katie had even tried to date someone else, but that ended badly (and resulted in Felicity and Katie’s friendship), but she’d never really gotten over Cody.

Katie was dressed as an angel, literally. She had fluffy white wings and a halo on her head. On most it would look a little bit silly, but she pulled it off, with her Roman-looking short white dress and golden jewelry.

Felicity looked down at herself. While the dress was lovely, and Katie had really outdone herself on both the adjustments and her hairdo, she didn’t feel very comfortable. This was the sort of thing a beautiful girl like Katie should be wearing, not a computer-loving geek like her.

She didn’t have time to talk herself out of going, though, as a knock sounded at the door. Katie let out a very uncharacteristic squeal and dashed to their walk in closet. “I’m not ready, stall him!” she hissed at her best friend.

Felicity managed not to roll her eyes – barely – and went to the door.

“Hey Cody,” she greeted with a smile. He was dressed in a similar Roman-ish getup, but all in black, and instead of a halo, he had little red horns and a tail. The demon and the angel.

“Hey Felicity, where’s Kate?” he asked, looking a little nervous himself.

Felicity stepped aside to let him in. “Putting the finishing touches on her costume,” she replied, before leaning closer. “Not really, she’s nervous as hell and hiding in the closet,” she whispered with a conspiratorial grin.

Cody seemed a little more at ease with that little revelation. And clasped his hands behind his back. He was a sweetheart, Felicity had always thought, always nice to everyone, and popular enough to pull it off. It helped that he was gorgeous, of course. Luckily, he wasn’t exactly Felicity’s type, or Katie would have fought tooth and nail for him. She’d been scaring off potential girlfriends for three months now.

“That’s okay, I’m a little nervous myself,” he replied, shrugging. His eyes were drawn to something over Felicity’s shoulder, and Felicity grinned. She had a feeling what had caused that awe-struck look on his face. Turning around, she saw that it was – indeed – Katie who had stepped out of the closet and was now nervously twisting her hands in front of her. It was such an unusual look on her, that Felicity had to suppress a smile. They were so adorable.

When neither of the two others seemed inclined to break eye contact – or breathe, for that matter – Felicity cleared her throat. “Everyone ready to leave? We don’t want to miss the kick-off.”

Katie seemed to snap out of it first, reached behind her to snag her silver purse and came over to stand next to Cody. He seemed perfectly fine with tucking her into his side and grinning like an idiot.

Felicity checked her heels one more time, readjusted the strap of her dress, and followed the lovebirds out. She was determined to have fun tonight, even if she wouldn’t be with her best friend. It was just a Halloween party, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This gets updated more regularly on FF.Net, since I keep forgetting I posted it on here as well :/ Sorry about that. Anyway, feel free to make sure I update!


	4. Chapter 4

** Chapter 4: **

**Oliver POV**

The principal made his customary speech – according to Dean, since Oliver really had no idea what customary was, in this case – into a microphone, while most of the juniors and seniors held their breath. This was the moment all would be revealed. All of the younger kids were looking around in anticipation, too, knowing what was about to happen, but a few chosen ones were the most excited. Oliver, being a newbie at the school, was one of them.

Dean had been elected ‘head of activities’, as they called it, while Oliver and about 4 or 5 others had been given their own task to complete. Personally, Oliver thought he’d done rather well, but as he had no idea what the other ‘candidates’ had done, he wasn’t sure he’d win.

Yes, he was being purposefully vague, even in his own mind. It was a necessity, they’d assured him.

As the principal’s aid ran onto the stage, all the students became quiet, knowing that the time had come. “What?!” principal Sandford shouted, after the aforementioned man had whispered something in his ear and had handed him some letters. He looked out over the crowd with narrowed eyes as he opened one of the letters and began reading.

He skipped a few lines before he began reading out loud. “I tender my resignation with immediate effect…” Sandford opened another letter, letting the first one fall to the ground. “I resign…”

The student body began to show signs of strain. They’d all been holding in laughter from the moment the first letter had been opened. The principal opened three more letters of resignation before he realized that some students were being held up by their classmates and friends because they were laughing so hard.

On the back of each letter, printed in huge block letters, was the following line: ‘THIS IS A PRANK. ALSO, HE’S AN IDIOT FOR NOT CHECKING THE BACKS OF THE LETTERS. I MEAN, REALLY. HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE?’ The text was large enough for everyone to read it, even the people in the back.

The teachers, who were standing in the back had to cover their mouths to hide their smiles. They hadn’t been in on the joke, but making fun of the principal was always a lot of fun.

Sandford finally realized something wasn’t right and turned the letter over. He went very still at what he read there. “Now listen, here,” he said, in what he probably assumed was a threatening tone. “Anyone responsible for this, or any other prank being played tonight will receive detention until after Christmas break, am I making myself clear?!” he shouted into the microphone.

This only resulted in more hysterical laughter from the students, while most teachers just stood by and watched, not bothering to interfere.

Oliver thought it was clever, but not all that elaborate. It was funny, but wait until they saw what he’d planned…

“Search for anything out of the ordinary, I won’t have a repeat of what happened last year!” the principal shouted at the teachers. Most of them nodded and casually started looking around, not trying too hard.

It was an annual tradition, Dean had said, but he’d been a little tightlipped before, promising to explain at the fair, after everything had gone down.

Oliver looked towards where he’d stored his prank. Maybe it hadn’t been obvious enough. Oh well, no one said he couldn’t give anyone a hint. He slipped into the crowd, leaving his date – Lisa something – with Dean and his girlfriend, to make his way to some of the teachers.

Most of them were wearing regular clothes, a few of the men sporting Halloween-themed ties, but only one of them was a little dressed up. Vice principal Brightley was wearing a miniature witches hat pinned to her hair, a lot more black make-up than usual, a witch’s black dress, and a wide, black belt with several leather pouches on them. It wasn’t very extravagant, considering that if that dress had different sleeves and no belt, it probably wouldn’t be considered a Halloween costume, but Oliver appreciated the effort. Especially since Sandford was still wearing his expensive suit.

“Mr. Queen. Enjoying the evening so far?” she asked pleasantly when she saw him approach.

Oliver put on his best charming smile. “Of course, anything so _traditional_ is worth experiencing, right?”

She raised an eyebrow at his tone, but didn’t comment on it. “Of course, it’s been this way for generations.”

Oliver kept his smirk to himself. “I do have a question, though, what’s with the statue of the ghost over there?” he asked, pointing to the area right behind the stage.

The pleasant smile Brightley had been sporting stayed firmly put, though she narrowed her eyes at him ever so slightly. “It’s our school’s founder, but I wasn’t aware it was being decorated this year.”

Oliver raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “Really? Well, it’s a little cliché, maybe someone should pull that sheet off his head. It’s not really up to standard with the rest of the decorations is it?” he said, and sauntered off, back into the crowd. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Brightley suppress a smile, before she walked over to the stage.

This was it. Brightley climbed the stairs to the stage and – completely ignoring principal Sandford – studied the statue behind it.

The students were quieting down now, their curiosity sparked as Brightley grabbed the sheet covering the statue. Sandford had even stopped ranting to look at his vice principal.

Oliver rejoined his friend and date, and grinned as Brightley pulled the sheet off and revealed – “Seriously?!” Dean shouted over the laughter that erupted. He turned to his friend. “How the hell did you find a dress to fit that fat old idiot?” he demanded, a huge grin splitting his face.

The founder of the school was an ugly, fat little man, carrying a book in one hand and a staff in the other – a caduceus, Oliver had later learned. The guy was brimming with self-importance, so Oliver had decided to make him the subject of his prank. He’d found some old rags and had roped a girl into helping him sew a dress for their dearly departed founder. Then, he’d found some paint and had given the man a make-over. He was now sporting bright pink lipstick, blue ‘eye shadow’ and mascara, a bright blush and new blonde wig. Which had been glued one. Suffice to say, it would take them a while to make the man look presentable again.

Oliver’s friends were slapping him on the back, congratulating him with his prank. It was apparently a tradition for all new juniors and seniors to the school – so only the ones who’d transferred in – to make their mark by playing a huge prank. The winner would be crowned by last year’s victor and would get some perks, as well as social recognition. All the participants were allowed to know beforehand was that it was an annual thing, that they had to plan a prank, when it would be executed, and that it would be rated.

Oliver had no clue who the winner from last year was, but he was dying to know.

“So how about that explanation?” he asked a still-grinning Dean.

“Yeah, of course. So, you know it’s an annual thing. Each year all the newbies have to plan a prank. It started in 1898 as a small thing, just for seniors, but it’s grown over the years. Every year, always at a different time of year, so chosen at random by the ‘head of activities,” he pointed at himself, “moi, this year. Last year it was done at Halloween, too, so I knew they wouldn’t suspect it. Every prank is recorded in this huge book and rated by both the head, and last year’s winner. The new victor gets crowned a week after the pranks were executed. You’re lucky, you get to be crowned by a legend,” he said, elbowing Oliver in the side.

“Why a legend?” he asked curiously.

Dean’s grin turned a bit malicious. “That prank has been dubbed ‘the air raid’ for a reason, it went into the annals of history at FCA. You’ll see at the crowning ceremony, we always review last year’s pranks. The last few years, we’ve been taping them, much more entertaining than retelling at any rate.”

“Wait,” Oliver said when he realized something. “You think I’m going to win?” It might be a strange thing to take pride in, but he did, nonetheless.

“Dude, as head I have to read the book of records, where all the pranks are described and the scores are written down, and I don’t think anyone has ever touched that statue before. How’d you get around security?” he asked curiously.

Oliver held up his hands with a smile. “A magician never reveals his secrets, right?” In truth, he’d used a laser pointer to disable the camera, and memorized the patrol schedule of the guards. He was fairly sure one of them had seen him when he was trying to get away, but the guy had simply walked the other way.

“Whatever, dude,” he replied, slipping an arm around his girlfriend-of-the-week and turned back to the stage. Brightley had said something, and was now announcing the start of the fair. It was only 9 pm, and still pretty light outside, but, for once, they were allowed to stay up past midnight, so they’d have plenty of time for it to get dark and spooky.

As the crowd dispersed, Oliver got jostled around a little and lost track of his date and friends. He looked around, stretching to see over people’s heads, when he found someone else. A blonde girl was standing fairly close to him, wearing a Greek goddess outfit. It was a floor-length white dress with a red sash over the shoulder, held up by gold clasps.

He’d only been able to see her profile before, but when she turned, he realized who it was. “Felicity?” She looked absolutely gorgeous. And since when was she blonde?

“Oliver,” she said, sounding a little out of breath. “Wow, you look… very Roman,” she said, smiling nervously, and was that a blush? Looking down at his own costume, Oliver was glad this was what he’d chosen. If he was honest with himself, he’d picked it because Felicity had told him not to be a cliché, and also, of course, because he just looked good as a gladiator. He was wearing a red cape and one of those skirt thingies gladiators always wore in movies. His outfit was completed by a small plastic shield hanging over his shoulders and a sword in a scabbard on his belt. He was bare-chested, of course. Any opportunity to show off his looks to the ladies…

“And you look Greek… You look amazing, Felicity.”

That was definitely a blush. “Thanks.” She kept tugging at her hair, even though most of it was up in an elegant, but complicated hairdo. He still couldn’t get over the fact that it was blonde.

“I thought you were going as a banshee?” he asked, looking around the crowd again, hoping to spot either Dean or Lisa.

“Change of plans. Katie – my roommate – got asked by her crush, so I got relegated to last year’s costume…. Are you looking for someone?” she asked.

Oliver paused in his search for his friends. Felicity was here by herself? Looking like that? He looked at her in the now-waning light and smiled softly. “Nah, I’ll catch them later. You want to go try out some of the rides?” he asked spontaneously. People all around them were milling about, pausing at food stands or going on rides. None of them were paying any attention to them.

Felicity smiled in a surprised sort of way. “Uhm sure. I mean, if you’re sure. Just… you don’t have to.”

Oliver couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his lips. Felicity just had that disarming sort of way of talking, of just… being her… it put him at ease like nothing else ever did. He put an arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the rides. “Come on, Felicity. Let’s go have some fun.”

/*/

They walked over to one of the concession stands first, seeing as dinner hadn’t exactly been an option. “So,” Oliver said, a little awkwardly. “You’re blonde now.” Inwardly, he winced at the attempt to fill the silence, but he really didn’t know what else to say, he didn’t know Felicity that well…

“Yeah,” she replied, tugging at a strand of hair and tucking it behind her ear. “Do you like it?” she asked timidly. Oliver couldn’t understand how she could go from ordering him not to go dressed as a cliché with all the confidence in the world, to timidly asking if she looked good. It was endearing, really.

He smiled at her. “I like it.” She blushed a pretty red and ducked her head.

“Congratulations on the prank, by the way,” she asked eventually. “Which one was yours?” she asked curiously.

Oliver smirked. “The one with the statue. Dean said I had a good chance of winning.”

Felicity had a strange little smile playing around her red lips. “That depends on last year’s winner.”

“Yeah, Dean said he was some sort of legend, and that they call his prank ‘the air raid’ now. I can’t wait to meet him,” he replied, excited.

Felicity chuckled. “I’m sure you can’t. It’ll definitely be memorable,” she muttered under her breath. Oliver frowned at her, but let it go. It was probably one of her quirks.

“I _do_ like your costume, by the way,” he complimented after they’d bought their fair-food. He’d realized he hadn’t actually said that, only asked why she’d had a change of costume.

Felicity grinned. “We sort of match. I’m Hera, and you’re a gladiator. Complete with sword and shield,” she joked, poking the items in question.

“How do we match? I thought gladiators came from the Roman Empire. That was after the Greeks, right?” he asked, frowning.

The now-blonde rolled her eyes. “Yes, but haven’t you looked at the sigil on your clasp?” she asked, gesturing to the metal thingy that held up his cloak.

Oliver frowned at it. “What about it?”

Oliver could tell she was holding back on rolling her eyes when she looked to the left and pursed her lips. She had a tell. “It’s Juno, Hera’s Roman counterpart. You can tell by the presence of the peacock and the goatskin cloak. You’re a gladiator wearing Juno’s sigil, I’m Juno’s counterpart. We match,” she explained with a grin.

Oliver chuckled and shook his head. “Are you an expert in everything?”

“Nah, I’m just a girl with a lot of free time on her hands and a very good laptop,” she replied cheekily.

Sometimes, Oliver wondered just how many sides there were to Felicity Smoak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating sooner!  
> I hope you liked the pranks. Prepare for another 2 chapters at the fair!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, slightly shorter than my last chapter, but I think y'all will like it all the same ;) Enjoy!

**Chapter 5:**

**Oliver POV**

"Ooh, let's go in here!" Felicity suggested. They'd just finished their food, and the light was pretty much gone, leaving the school terrains in the spooky Halloween lighting.

Oliver looked to where she was pointing at the 'Haunted Tour'. Basically, it was a haunted house, but it went into the – very artificial – forest and you got to ride a horse drawn carriage. You were supposed to walk the last part.

Looking down at the petite girl by his side, he had a feeling she'd be terrified later, but she looked so optimistic now, he couldn't refuse her. "Sure, why not?"

They went in and got into the carriage. This ride was a little out of the way of the others – Felicity had adamantly refused to go on the rollercoasters – which only served to make it even scarier. Oliver loved scary stuff, and horror movies were his favorites. He loved guessing who would die first.

Felicity was looking around wide-eyed at all the creepy decorations, and unconsciously scooted closer to Oliver. He didn't mind; he smirked at her when she looked at him. She blushed.

The ride wasn't bad, full of creepy stuff to scare them, even a guy or three who jumped out at them. They got dropped off at the entrance of the 'abandoned psychiatric hospital' they'd built. It looked fairly impressive for a small, temporary building. Felicity hadn't been very scared on the ride, but now she took a deep breath and asked Oliver to go first.

The first room was dark, but there was enough light to make out a doorway to their right. It was covered with scraps of fabric that had been made to look dirty and old. Oliver went through the door first, and they ended up in a long hallway that looked like it came from a horror movie. There was graffiti on the walls, leaves were scattered on the floor, a bloody handprint, along with some spatters covered the right wall. He could make out a humanoid shape lying on the floor ahead of them, near the corner, but he couldn't tell if it was a dummy or an actor.

Oliver started walking, cautiously, as adrenaline coursed through him. They'd really put some serious work into this, and he was having fun. From the way Felicity was gripping the edge of his cape, he thought that maybe it was a little much for her.

Both of them had focused on the shape at the end of the hallway so much, that they hadn't noticed a metal hatch to their left. It was suddenly thrown open and banged into the walls loudly. Felicity let out an equally loud shriek and jumped closer to Oliver.

Oliver just laughed, though he admitted the actor behind the hatch looked great. He had white contact lenses, tattered clothes, and fake blood all over, never mind the chunks of 'dead flesh' missing. Obviously, Felicity was a little less impressed. She darted ahead, as far away from the hatch as possible, even if it took her closer to the end of the hallway.

Slowly, the hatch closed again while the actor kept staring. It was a little creepy, Oliver admitted, his heartbeat was a little faster than normal, but that was the thrill of it!

Felicity was a little ways ahead of him, looking extremely uncomfortable, and maybe a tad panicky. Joining her, Oliver bumped her shoulder with his. "You know it's all fake, right? If you really want to get out, I'm sure I could ask one of the actors," he suggested, though he really hoped she'd see it through.

Felicity shook her head. "No, it's okay. I can do this," she said, straightened up and took a step further. When Oliver didn't immediately follow, she looked back.

Shaking his head, Oliver caught up. As they neared the shape, Felicity inched closer to him. He let her, knowing she needed the comfort and really not minding having her that close. As they passed it, Oliver was fairly certain that it was a dummy, but Felicity grabbed his arm at the elbow and clung to it. He put his free hand over hers, grinning at her when she looked up. She stuck out her tongue.

They went through the rest of the haunted house like that, Felicity holding on to his arm, and Oliver offering reassuring touches every once in a while. They came across a bloody zombie surgeon who touched Felicity's hair until she whimpered and shrunk into Oliver, and guy in a straightjacket who screamed and jumped around them, getting inches from Oliver's face, but didn't touch them. They went through a completely dark room where they felt  _something_ touch their ankles. When the light finally flickered on as they neared the next hallway, they could see that they'd been walking in between hung up corpses. Oliver thought it was really well done. Felicity was less impressed.

When they neared the exit, he could tell that she was eager to get out and back into the open air, but Oliver had some experience with haunted houses. There was usually a surprise near the end, so he prepared himself.

Felicity wasn't so cautious, so when they saw the door that led outside, she finally let go of his arm. Turning around to smile at him, she didn't see the last zombie jump from a hidden trapdoor in the low ceiling. As the actress screamed – seriously, how did a human being sound like that? – Felicity stumbled forward into his arms and grabbed hold of him, while at the same time half-turning to see the newest 'threat'. The actress cackled loudly, and crouched in the middle of the hallway. She definitely looked insane. She was wearing white contacts too, making it look like she only had pupils. Her straw-blonde hair looked like it had discovered static electricity and had huge chucks missing. She was wearing a straightjacket too, but the sleeves were no longer tied at the back.

She just stood there, staring and giggling shrilly from time to time. Felicity seemed frozen in his arms and didn't look like she was planning to move any time soon. He'd opened his arms instinctively, but now that he had her in his arms, he didn't feel like letting go any time soon.

"Can we pass?" he asked the actress. Felicity startled at his voice; they hadn't actually spoken since that first hallway.

The actress giggled again, inching closer, and passing by them, getting way too close into their personal space. Felicity shrunk closer into him.

Once the actress had passed them, Oliver walked them to the exit and into the open air.

Once they were outside, Felicity let go of him and sat down on a nearby bench. She was shaking and Oliver was getting a little worried that maybe the haunted house hadn't been such a good idea. He was just about to ask her if she was okay when she started… laughing.

Okay, definitely worried about her sanity now, he knelt in front of her. "I'm am never doing that again," she proclaimed, looking up into his face. She didn't look frightened anymore, her eyes dancing with mirth.

"Okay, I'm lost," Oliver admitted, sliding up to sit next to her.

Felicity, mostly laughed out now, turned to him fully. "I always get scared to death in haunted houses, if there was such a thing as a phobia of them, I'd have it."

"Then why go in? Why suggest it?" he asked, curious now.

She shrugged. "Conquering fears, the kick you get when you survive… you name it. I don't like them when I'm  _in_  them, but once I'm out, I'm good," she explained as she got up.

"That makes no sense," Oliver commented, but he was smiling at her. He'd never met a girl like Felicity before – scratch that, he'd never met  _anyone_  like her – and he loved how different she was.

The girl in question shrugged and held out her hand to help him up, unaware of his thoughts. "I know. I'm special that way," she replied with a grin.

Oliver laughed and accepted her hands – though he really didn't need it. They walked back to the common area of the fair, not really sure what to do next.

"Ooh, look, a photo booth!" Felicity pointed to one of those cheap things that let you take four pictures. He'd never really thought much about them before, but Felicity seemed excited, and it was infectious. He grinned at her smile as she grabbed his hand and dragged him over. "Come on, let's take a picture!"

They got inside the tiny booth, squeezing together on the small bench. Oliver was a little bemused, having never done this before, but Felicity looked certain as she tapped her dark red nails against the screen. The instructions appeared, and Oliver only had just enough time to read them, get ready and smile before the flash went off. It blinded him a little and he was fairly certain he was making a face. Felicity laughed at him when the second flash went off.

He grinned mischievously and poked her in the side before the third flash went off. She shrieked. He hadn't known she was ticklish, but it didn't surprise him that she was. "Oliver!" she shouted at him just as the last flash went off.

They piled out of the booth, both still laughing and waited for the machine to print their pictures. Oliver was certain they weren't going to be very flattering, but it had been fun, just like Felicity had promised. Felicity fished out the pictures, studying them closely. "I like the last one," she proclaimed, and gave him one of the sets of pictures.

The last one had both of them laughing so hard they were probably not breathing, but it really looked genuine. Oliver had long ago learned how to give a convincing fake smile, but this one… this one actually looked real. The second and third pictures both had one of them making a face, and the first one… With a start, Oliver realized what they looked like. They looked like a couple. He looked down at the now-blonde, and noticed that his own hand had been creeping closer to hers, desperate to hold it again. He snagged the offending limb back and held onto his plastic sword instead. This was not good.

"Look, Felicity, I need to go find Dean and…" He'd been planning to say 'my date', but found that he didn't want to. "And my friends," he finished lamely.

"Oh." She looked so crestfallen, he felt really bad, but if people saw them together, if they assumed they were  _together_ … her life would become hell, and he couldn't do that to her. Not to his friend, not to Felicity.

"I'm sorry, but Dean gets a little… annoyed when he doesn't get enough attention, and he does stupid things when he'd annoyed… I'd better go see if…" he trailed off. It was a dumb excuse, and he knew that, and, worse, Felicity knew that.

"Yeah, of course… I'll be fine, go find your friend, I uhm… I need to go find Katie too, see if she needs rescuing from… her super cute new boyfriend…" she replied.

They stood there for a little while longer, not quite meeting each other's eyes, but neither willing to be the first to move. "I should go," Felicity said eventually.

"Yeah."

She took a step backwards. "This is me. Leaving," she said, taking another step back. Oliver grinned at her and took a step backwards as well. Felicity must have taken this as some sort of sign that it was okay to leave, so she turned around and left.

Oliver stopped in his tracks. He liked Felicity, she was the only one besides Tommy he could be himself with, but she was so… innocent. She hadn't been corrupted by the world yet, not like him, not like most conceited assholes on this school. And he would be damned if he was going to let them do that to her.

She looked back once, but let out a sort of yelp, blushed madly, and turned back around. Oliver couldn't help a chuckle. Fearless Felicity Smoak, reduced to yelping in the face of Oliver Queen.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't know why, but that last sentence is probably my favorite in this entire story so far.


	6. Chapter 6

** Chapter 6: **

**Oliver POV**

He was still smiling when he finally found Dean and their respective dates. The other boy had an arm around both girls, but relinquished his hold on Lisa when he noticed Oliver.

“Ollie, man, where have you been? We’ve been searching for ages,” Dean said. He didn’t look at all guilty for having just been cozying up to another guy’s date, but that was Dean for you. Lisa immediately attached herself to Oliver’s side, smiling seductively at him. Unfortunately for her, all Oliver could think about was that her lips were the wrong shade of pink.

“I checked out the haunted house, I figured I’d spare the ladies the excitement,” he lied with practiced ease, throwing a charming smile at his date.

“Aw, man, I wanted to go in there!” Dean complained. “Was it as awesome as it looks?” he asked eagerly.

Oliver grinned. “Absolutely, it had actors and everything. But we can hit one of the rollercoasters?” he suggested.

“No, Ollie,” Lisa whined. “That’ll mess up my hair!”

“So what about a little gunfire,” Dean suggested with a devilish grin. “We can show the ladies our prowess, Ollie,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. Oliver rolled his eyes, but followed his friend. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a little voice whispered that Felicity wouldn’t have minded getting her hair messed up, even if she wasn’t a big fan of rollercoasters…

/*/

**Felicity POV**

It had been a great night. She really couldn’t remember why she hadn’t gone last year. She’d had a great time with Oliver, and had the pictures to show for it, and afterwards, she’d met up with Katie and some of her AP classmates and just had fun. And to top it off, Katie had invited her to spend Christmas with her and her family in her mansion in Gotham. It really was a mansion, she’d seen pictures. All in all, a great night, and one she wouldn’t soon forget.

As she pulled the pins from her now-blonde hair, she wondered what Oliver had done for the remainder of the night. She’d caught glimpses of him from a distance a few times, but he was always surrounded by a crowd. It didn’t surprise her that he’d become instantly popular on his arrival here. Even if he hadn’t been the richest person in the school, Oliver was just a likeable person. Although… She was completely aware of his reputation as both a playboy and a spoiled brat, and she supposed that reputation must have come from somewhere, but he was such a nice guy, and he cared about things. When he talked about his sister, she could hear the affection in his voice, the animation when he talked about Tommy, the pride when his father took notice of him… She didn’t think a lot of other people noticed that about him, and maybe he didn’t show it to them enough.

Felicity was shaken from her thoughts when the door to her room opened. Katie waltzed in, her hair mussed and a goofy grin on her lips, despite the smudged lipstick. She couldn’t help a smile at her friend’s expression. Katie had a reputation of getting around as well, though as far as Felicity knew, she’d only had a handful of boyfriends.

“Oh Lissa, could tonight get any better?” the other girl sighed as she let herself fall onto her bed.

“I take it Cody made it worth the wait?” Felicity asked, coming over to sit next to her friend.

The broad smile on Katie’s face was more than answer enough – as was her current appearance, by the way. “I’ll have you know that he was a perfect gentleman, not even trying to get to second base.”

“Just first base, right?” Felicity asked with a grin. She really was happy for her friend. Cody was one of those people who was popular simply because everyone liked him. He was always polite, and though he tended to be a little distracted sometimes, usually did stand up for the less than popular kids. Kids like one Felicity Smoak. Though, after last year’s prankings, she hadn’t needed any help in that department. Not that she was popular, per se, but she was respected, which was good enough for her.

Katie looked at her conspiratorially. “He is an _amazing_ kisser. And he was so attentive! He got me cotton candy, it was like a movie, it was so perfect!” she squealed.

Felicity winced at the volume. “Have you been drinking?” she asked suspiciously, peering at the other girl.

“No. Well… maybe, but it was just one cup. Maybe two. I am so not drunk,” Katie protested, finally sitting up.

Felicity smiled. She never took part in the richer kids’ drinking parties, but she had been to a few, and knew her roommate’s limit. “Maybe not drunk, but definitely tipsy, so you should probably drink some water and go to bed.”

Katie rolled her eyes in an entirely exaggerated way, so Felicity knew she wasn’t really angry. “Sure, _mom_.” She looked down at her dress. “Help me?” she asked, gesturing to the different clasps that would have to be undone. Felicity herself was already clad in her favorite Yummi Sushi pajamas, so she didn’t mind.

“I just can’t believe how lucky I’ve gotten with Cody, you know, I always figured I’d end up with a stuck-up I only sort of like and that my parents approve of, but Cody…” Katie sighed dreamily. “He’s The One, Felicity, I can feel it.”

“I’m glad you’re so in love, but maybe you should wait to call him your One True Love until you’ve gone on a few more dates, okay?” Felicity advised good-naturedly. She’d undone the clasps and was now taking all the pins out of the other brunette’s hair, not an easy feat, considering the sheer amount of them.

“Nope, I’m sure. I mean, I won’t tell him that, of course, boys are such pussies when it comes to feelings, but…” she trailed off and sighed again. “You should find someone like that, Felicity. Being in love…”

“Yeah, I know, ‘it’s amazing’, right?” she replied, walking back over to her own bed and getting beck to fishing pins out of her own hair.

Katie rolled over and stared at her friend. “Did something happen…?” she asked tentatively.

“No,” Felicity answered immediately. “Nothing happened.” After all, why would Oliver Queen ever look at her that way?

/*/

**Oliver POV**

Oliver, being part of the popular crowd, had been invited to the illegal after party. Not that he remembered much from that time, but the fact that he woke up in Lisa’s bed told him enough. He hadn’t really planned on that happening, but he wasn’t overly worried. Lisa was not very clingy and not interested in a relationship so much as just someone to have a good time with.

For some reason, his thoughts flashed to Felicity. He wished he could have spent more time with her, instead of having to tend to his popular friends. Then again, if he’d have spent more time with her, people would have asked questions, and he just wasn’t ready to answer to those. Distracted, he gathered his clothes and snuck out of the girl’s dorm.

He had no clue where Felicity’s dorm room was, but he found himself wondering about it now.

Oliver shook his head. He really shouldn’t be thinking about that now, he needed to focus on getting back to his own room, hopefully without getting caught by security.

When he finally did make it back – with only one near miss with one of the security personnel – he was glad that his room was so big. Dean’s side was a mess. His wasn’t much better, but Dean’s was currently strewn with clothes, not all of which were the boy’s. Oliver could faintly hear the sound of the shower in their adjacent bathroom, and could just make out his friend’s form in his bed, so he assumed the girl from last night was in the shower.

Rolling his eyes, Oliver threw his pillow at Dean,  the other boy waking up with a shout. He really had to work not to laugh when Dean fell out of the bed. “Jeez, dude, what was that good for?” he asked irritably as he tried to untangle himself from his sheets.

“Breakfast is about to start, and you may want to make sure they don’t see a girl exit the boy’s dorm the morning after a party. You know you’re going to get in trouble,” Oliver replied, quickly pulling on a fresh shirt. He was running late for his flying lesson and Captain Rogers wasn’t the most patient man when it came to tardiness. He’d have to shower and eat afterwards.

Dean grinned lewdly, probably remembering the night before. “Yeah… I’ll go tell her.” He got up and went into the bathroom. For some reason, Oliver suspected the both of them would be missing breakfast…

/*/

His flying lesson had been grueling. The alcohol-induced headache had already been present, but became just that much more prominent while trying to memorize flight controls of the simulators they had to use.

During the first lesson of the semester, the Captain had told them to get in the simulator without any instructions. They’d all ‘crashed’, of course, but that wasn’t the point of the lesson. The Captain was well aware of the rich slackers he had in his class. That first class weeded out the wannabe’s and left them with a small group of 4 guys and one girl. Rogers had explained that crashing – albeit in a simulator – was important for them too, it showed them that the theory was as (if not more) important than the practical lessons.

Rogers also had no compassion for the trials of teenage life at a boarding school, so for Oliver, the girl – affectionately nicknamed Letty – and the one other guy who had a hangover, he had no mercy to spare. In fact, Oliver was fairly sure that Rogers was shouting just a little more than usual.

About halfway through the lesson – which was spent on the bleachers, memorizing page upon page of controls – Oliver became aware that they weren’t the only ones enjoying the late autumn sun. On the other end of the bleachers, a certain brunette he’d been thinking about earlier sat, reading a book. Her hair was still blonde, but he’d recognize Felicity anywhere.

Oliver spent a good 5 minutes trying to catch her eye, but she was apparently engrossed in her book. Either that, or she was ignoring him. Since he couldn’t remember doing anything to incur her anger, he decided it had to be the first.

“Queen!” Rogers shouted. Oliver and the other two with a hangover winced at the volume, the other two boys just snickered.

Oliver stood up, as Rogers preferred when being talked to. “Sir?”

“If your girlfriend is so distracting, ask her to come over here, maybe that way you won’t keep shooting puppy dog eyes at her from a distance,” he shouted again.

This time, all four of the others laughed. Oliver was fairly sure he was beet red.

“No need, Captain, I just finished my book anyway,” a feminine voice said. Felicity had put her book away and was walking over to them. “Mind if I follow along?” she asked.

The Captain’s lips twitched, maybe suppressing a smile. “Of course, miss Smoak, just don’t distract my boys.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “I think it’s more the hangover that’s distracting them than me, sir,” she replied congenially, but sat down next to Oliver. He hadn’t missed how she hadn’t corrected the Captain when he’d called her his girlfriend. For some reason that made him feel better.


	7. Chapter 7

** Chapter 7: **

**Oliver POV**

Rogers continued the lessons, grilling one of the not-hung over boys; Dylan. Oliver got along well enough with most of his classmates, even though Dylan was another of the scholarship students. He wasn’t the most popular kid at school, always either getting ignored or bullied. Oliver distracted the bullies when he could, but he hadn’t really interfered so far. He liked Dylan, but it was basic survival skills, if you sided with the victim, you could become one.

Letty was a whole other matter. Her real name was Elizabeth, but she despised it, and she was more likely to break your nose than listen if you called her that. She wasn’t one of the richest kids, but her dad owned a big car company. He wanted his daughter to take over one day, hence the fancy school, but Letty had other plans. She took an advanced electrics class and automotive engineering for vintage cars. She was as tough as any of the guys, but she had a really strong idea of right and wrong. She was Dylan’s best friend and usually shielded him from the worst of the bullying. She could be downright scary, even though she was positively tiny.

Darren was probably the only person in that class that Oliver didn’t really get along with. Despite his popularity, he was a dick, and thought he was better than all the others. He also thought he was Oliver’s friend. He threw great parties, though, as evidenced the previous night, so Oliver did nothing to dissuade that thought. He wasn’t a bully, but he acted as if everyone should worship the ground under his feet, and laughed just as hard as everyone else when Dylan was pushed around again. Him and Letty were basically arch enemies.

The last person in his class was Cassim. He didn’t say much, but there were plenty of rumors going around. Most had some theory that his dad was some kind of oil Sheik who spent all his time in Saudi-Arabia, and that Cassim had diplomatic immunity. The craziest one Oliver had heard was that Cassim was at FCA because if he went to school in Arabia, they’d kidnap him for ransom, or even kill him. Oliver highly doubted the latter, but seeing as the kid rarely opened his mouth, it was hard to tell.

Oliver was shaken from his musings about his classmates by a Three Musketeers being dropped onto his notebook. Looking up at Felicity, he saw that she had raised an eyebrow. “You skipped breakfast,” she whispered while the Captain was distracted by some jocks that had started making noise on the field.

“I got in late last night,” he said, but gratefully tore the wrapped off and took a bite.

“Don’t you mean this morning?” she asked, playfully bumping his shoulder with her own.

He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Queen! Shut up and tell me where to look when you need to check your altitude!” the Captain suddenly shouted.

Oliver hastily swallowed the bite he’d just taken. “Which do you want me to do, shut up or answer the question?” he asked. He probably shouldn’t have been quite so cheeky, but he couldn’t help it. Authority figures brought out the worst in him.

The Captain’s glare answered that question though, so Oliver gave the answer. Despite the headache and the slight nausea that were still bothering him, it was a beautiful morning, and having one of his best friends silently support him through a Rogers Rant, really did brighten it up considerably.

/*/

“Hey Queen, hold up!” Letty shouted. Rogers had kept them half an hour longer than usual, and considering the class already lasted two hours, he was exhausted and famished. Felicity had left when the class was supposed to end, needing to finish an extra credit assignment Brightley had given her.

Oliver sighed, but turned around to face the girl. “What’s up?” he asked. He was happy that he could now wear shades, the sun had been merciless all morning.

“Just wanted to chat. What’s up with the brainy girlfriend? I thought that wasn’t your type?” she asked, seemingly genuinely curious.

Oliver stopped walking and gave Letty a look. “She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my tutor. And I swear to God, if you start spreading rumors…” he threatened. It was empty though, because if she wanted to cause trouble there was very little he could do about it.

She held up her hands in surrender. “Easy cowboy, I was just teasing, though you might want to distract Darren if you don’t want him to tell everyone about Felicity.”

Realizing she was probably right – she usually was – he started looking around for Darren, but the other boy had already vanished. “He’s already left for the dorm, you’re not going to catch him anymore,” she said. Then, she bit her lip. “Look, I get that you don’t want people to know that you’re friends with someone like Felicity, if, in fact, it’s nor more than that…?”

Shaking his head, Oliver wondered where she was going with this.

“Well, then I suggest finding one of your usual bimbos and basically announcing to the school you’re dating someone else. Preferably someone as popular and rich as you. Oh, and do it publically.”

Oliver frowned. “Why are you helping me?” he asked. Letty was a nice enough person once you got past the tough girl-routine, but she’d never gone out of her way to help anyone like him before.

She scoffed. “Please, I’m doing this for Felicity. She and Dylan are friends, since they’re both scholarship students and freakishly smart. Apparently nerds are supposed to stick together. Anyway, Felicity’s a nice girl. Don’t screw her over like you do everyone else, okay?” And with that, she turned on her heel and started walking back to where Dylan was waiting for her.

“Okay, weird,” Oliver murmured to himself. He shook his head. He could worry about Letty’s sanity later, her plan was actually a good one. Now to find Lisa…

/*/

**Felicity POV**

It had been almost a whole week since the Halloween fair, and the school had returned to relative normalcy. Most of the decorations had been cleaned up, detentions had been handed out to those who had been caught in the wrong dorm or possessing alcohol… you know, the usual.

Felicity was glad that most of the craziness was over, though it was staring to get nauseating just being in her room, what with Katie either texting and giggling nonstop or Cody hanging out, and basically the same happening. As a result, Felicity found herself hanging out in the library even more than she usually did.

Her tutoring sessions with Oliver continued, though now they usually had a very impatient audience. Lisa, Oliver’s girlfriend ever since the Halloween fair, had taken it upon herself to park herself at the next table over, and spend the entire tutoring session leafing through magazines, sighing audibly, and distracting Oliver from anything Felicity was saying.

Add to that the rather explosive phone call that had interrupted their session the previous day – apparently, Oliver’s girlfriend hadn’t been informed of their breakup, and had quite a few things to say about it – and the party was complete.

“Okay, that’s it!” Felicity shouted. The librarian looked at her with a shocked expression on her features. Felicity was usually one of the only ones with any respect for her and her books, and usually followed the rules. But now she’d had enough. She got up and roughly stuffed her books into her bag.

Oliver looked startled, Lisa just looked bored. “Felicity, wait, he said, getting up and caching her elbow.”

“Either you get your head out of your ass and start paying attention so I can actually do what I’m paid for, or you can spend all your free time with bimbo number one over there and fail all of your classes, Oliver. You choice,” she said harshly, turned on her heel and left.

Perhaps she was being a little overdramatic, but she was under a lot of pressure. These little sessions left her with a lot more work, too, and she already had a college-level course load, so if she was a little snappish, it wasn’t her fault.

And the worst part was that it wasn’t that Oliver wasn’t smart enough, or even dedicated enough, it was that he surrounded himself with bad influences, and then proceeded to let those people affect basically every part of his life. It bothered her more than it should. After all, Oliver was just another rich slacker, wasn’t he?

And yet…

And yet, he’d hung out with her at the fair, he’d been interested in what she’d had to say, he was… nice. She truly believed he was a good person, he just-

“Felicity, wait!” Oliver’s voice interrupted her thoughts. He came running out of the library after her, his bag slung over his shoulder and his jacket in his hand. “I’m sorry. I’ll tell Lisa she should stop coming. In fact, I doubt she’s going to be a problem anymore.”

Despite herself, Felicity felt her curiosity bubbling to the surface. “Okay, I’ll bite. Why not?” she asked, crossing her arms. She liked Oliver, might even count him as one of her friends, but he could be so… stupid.

Oliver rubbed the back of his neck. “She sort of broke up with me.”

Felicity raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Why?” she asked, a little concerned. They’d only been going out for a week, but she’d gotten the feeling that they were attached at the hip.

“She didn’t like me sticking up for you. And besides, it was mostly just for fun anyway, we weren’t serious,” he explained with a shrug. He really didn’t seem very broken up about it.

“Didn’t you just break up with your last girlfriend because you wanted to be with Lisa?” Felicity asked, confused.

“Nah, Laurel was just a nag.”

“Oliver!” she chided.

“What? She was. And besides, I’ve known Laurel since, like, fourth grade, she’s more like a sister to me anyway,” he said, nonchalantly.

“Then why did you date her?”

Oliver had the grace to look a little sheepish. “She’s hot. And people kept saying how great we’d be together, so I asked her out.”

Felicity gave him a flat look. Oliver shrugged. Sighing, Felicity kept walking, but kept her tempo down, expecting him to follow her. “You don’t always have to do what people expect you to, Oliver. It might be a good thing to surprise them from time to time. Show them you’re better than that.”

Oliver stopped walking and was looking at her strangely. “What?” she asked, stopping too.

“Nothing, it’s just… No one’s ever said that to me before… They always tell me to be better, but they always expect me… not to.”

It was a little heartbreaking seeing the confident playboy Oliver Queen standing in front of her, seeming for once so small. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Felicity smiled at him. “Well than they don’t see the real you, and they’re idiots.”

Oliver smiled a sort of crooked smile, not the charming one he used on his friends and teachers, and not the smirk he often pasted on, but a real, honest, almost shy smile. “My mom’s a cocktail waitress in Vegas, and I went to a really crappy primary and middle school. People expected me to fail too, to follow in my mom’s footsteps and get a kid right out of high school and be a waitress for the rest of my life, but that’s not what I want. And I won’t let their expectations rule my life, Oliver. Neither should you.”

She wasn’t entirely sure why it was so important to her that he took her advice to heart, and she really didn’t know why she’d told him about her mom. The only one at school who knew about her home life was Katie, but… she felt comfortable around Oliver, like she could trust him. And he wasn’t looking at her with disdain or disgust because of her background. He looked at her like he didn’t realize that it should matter.

She sighed again, but it was a happy sigh this time. “Come on Oliver, you should get changed, the crowning ceremony is tonight, and I know how long it takes you to pick an outfit,” she joked, pulling him gently along by the arm.

Oliver grinned. “You’re going?”

“Of course I’m going, why wouldn’t I?”

Oliver shrugged. “I don’t know, I just figured it wasn’t really your scene.”

It took serious physical restraint not to burst out laughing at that remark. Oh well, he’d find out tonight. “Well, you’re going, and I’m supporting you.”

His grin turned back into that crooked-honest smile that she was starting to love. “Thank you, Felicity.”

She shrugged. “What are friends for?” Because that’s what they were. The two most unlikely people in FCA, the royal and the peasant, becoming friends. God, it almost sounded like a fairy tale, the prince and the pauper. Well, his name _was_ Queen.

“So what do you think I should wear?” Oliver asked, so sincere that Felicity really couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I can't believe the amount of response I'm getting for this! Thanks so much for all the Kudo's guys!  
> And I'm sorry for not updating earlier, like I said before; A Sunless Garden gets updated more often on Fanfiction.Net...

** Chapter 8: **

**Dean POV**

The crowning ceremony – as it was so dramatically called – took place after nightfall in a basement of the administration building. A security guard had been bribed to turn off the camera and stand guard. The guards never really minded, and any newbies were warned about it in advance. They’d never had any problems, but if there were, the head of security would deal with it. They were getting paid to keep them safe, so as long as the rules they were breaking didn’t interfere with their safety, they were pretty lax. Besides, the basement get swept by the guard and another one was stationed near the only entrance. And the higher ups had no clue.

The place had been decorated by the juniors, as per tradition, with small lights, and little tables. The only thing the security didn’t know about was the booze, of course. Dean chuckled. Yeah, his life was pretty great. Especially now that he was Head of Activities, and he could order people around.

The basement was already abuzz with the people who had shown up – only popular kids, of course. It was a moment to socialize and make connections, as most of the millionaire parents of these kids would want them to. Dean’s own dad had stressed the importance of good connections a few million times already.

Most of the candidates were already here, and of course the current ruler of the prankdom was backstage, waiting with the crown. Dean scanned the crowd, looking for… There he was! “Ollie, over here!” he shouted.

The dude was like a girl with how long it took him to find something to wear. Still, he was cool. “Hey Dean, what’s up?” Oliver asked when he’d made his way through the crowd – a feat made harder since the rumor had spread that he’d broken up with Lisa.

“Just getting ready to get started. You nervous?” Dean asked, grinning. If his life was great, than that of Oliver Queen had to be the best. That guy had anything anyone would ever want. More money than anyone could ever count, parents still together, all the girls begging him to take them out, and all the guys to be his friend. Smarts too, from what he’d heard, and almost no reprimands after pissing of the cops. What more could a teenage boy want?

“Nah, I’m totally going to win. I’m just curious about the current King of Pranks. And I really want to see that video, the rumors going around are absolutely crazy!” Oliver said, practically thrumming with confidence and energy. Seriously, the guy had it all.

Dean smirked. He’d been hearing rumors too, about who Oliver Queen had been hanging out with in the library. He couldn’t wait to see his face when Oliver found out who last year’s winner was. “Oh, you’ll see soon enough,” he said, slapped him on the shoulder, and made his way to the makeshift stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” he shouted through the mic. Everyone quieted down immediately. The anticipation had been building up about this for ages, and now people were about to burst. “The day has finally come, I hope you’re all ready for this! Now, I’m not known for long speeches, so I suggest you refill your glasses of booze and enjoy the show!” he said, jumped off the stage and rejoined Oliver. A projector switched on as the lights dimmed and people turned their attention to the screen. It took a second, but then the video started playing. A few of the older, more memorable ones were played – to the great amusement of the crowd – before they moved on to last year’s prank, ending with the winner, of course.

Dean couldn’t stop glancing over at his friend, excited on his behalf. Oliver was going to win, he’d discussed it with last year’s winner, and it was unanimous. When it came time to announce the victor of this year’s round, he went up on the stage again, grinning at the crowd.

“So, I hope you enjoyed that little show, but that wasn’t the reason you all came here. You came to see the winner. Now as you all know, the new winner is crowned by whoever won last year. I hope you all have your checkbooks ready, because I _so_ know you all bet on the outcome. Will, you’re going to owe me! Anyway, without further ado, I present our Queen of Pranks: Felicity Smoak!” he shouted and stepped aside as the girl in question came out from behind the curtain to loud applause. She was wearing a gaudy – actually gold and silver – crown, and looked… not bad for a nerd in her pink knee-length sheath dress.

Oliver’s face was beyond priceless, open mouth and everything! Dean quickly snapped a picture. He was so going to frame that one!

Felicity, still a little blonder than usual, stepped up to the mic. “I really hate long speeches, but I do have a few things to say.” She looked a little nervous, but Dean remembered that she didn’t really like the limelight all that much. Weird. “There were some great pranks this year, but it really was no competition.” She held up the envelope with the name of the winner in it. “Now, how about we just get on with it?”

The crowd burst out in cheers again, obviously a little inebriated. Felicity pulled a piece of paper out of the envelope and looked at the name, grinning conspiratorially at the students. The noise died down, and the excitement was almost palpable. Even knowing whose name was on that piece of paper, Dean leaned forward in anticipation.

“This year’s winner and new King of Pranks is… Oliver Queen!” she shouted.

The room burst apart. Dean slapped his hands over his ears, even as he laughed and cheered right along. He nudged Oliver with his elbow, the poor dude looked completely stunned. “Come on, dude!” Dean yelled over the noise. He wasn’t entirely sure Oliver had heard him, but he did follow Dean to the stage.

The cheering was dying down again, as people settled into their seats. Behind them played the video of Mrs. Brightley uncovering the statue, and of principal Sanford blowing a vein over it. Dean was thoroughly enjoying reliving that moment, and of course, being cheered at by adoring crowds was always a plus, even when standing next to Oliver Queen.

He applauded and cheered again as Felicity took off the crown and put it on Oliver’s head. She said something to him Dean couldn’t hear, but it made Oliver smile.

Oh crap.

Dean was familiar with that smile, though he hadn’t seen it on Oliver’s face yet. It was the way his dad looked at his mom when he thought no one was watching. What the hell? When had that happened? Dean knew that Oliver was getting tutored by her, but he hadn’t thought they’d actually become friends, never mind… _‘No,’_ he thought, _‘If Oliver really cared about her that much, he wouldn’t be messing around with Lisa…’_

Dean blinked, and the moment was over. Oliver was looking out over his adoring fans grinning a little smugly, while Felicity slipped unnoticed off the stage.

Huh. Maybe he’d imagined it? Dean shrugged, no use worrying over it now, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. As he settled into that decision, he began cheering and applauding right along with everyone else. He’d worry about stuff like that later…

/*/

**Felicity POV**

Seeing Oliver’s face go slack when she stepped onto the stage might actually have been the funniest thing Felicity had seen all week. Or all year, really.

The crowning party was still in full swing – naturally – but Felicity just wasn’t the partying kind of girl. Katie had been in the crowd with Cody, and they had decided to stay a little while longer, Felicity just wanted to go back to her room, maybe watch an episode of something, and then go to bed. She had a private lesson with Mr. Hardison the next day about advanced computer programming, and he never appreciated her being half asleep.

“Hey, Felicity, wait up!” Someone shouted just as she exited the building. She turned around, expecting Cody or maybe some of the less asshole-y popular boys, but it was someone completely different.

“Aren’t you missing your own party back there?” she asked curiously, wondering what Oliver Queen was doing out here.

He shrugged. “They’ll be fine for a few minutes without me. Look, I just… Why didn’t you tell me you were last year’s winner?” he asked. He was still smiling that amazing smile of his, the completely guileless, sincere one that Felicity has only seen a handful of times.

She smirked. “And ruin that perfect moment of complete astonishment on your face? No way, that was priceless,” she joked, pulling her coat tighter around herself. It wasn’t that cold yet, but it was nearing midnight and the temperature was definitely dropping, as it always did in Nevada at night.

Oliver rolled his eyes at her. “Okay fine, but why are you leaving already? The party’s just getting started.”

“A bunch of rich, drunk teens making out or congratulating themselves on how much money they just spent? Not really my scene, remember?” she asked, but it wasn’t maliciously. She didn’t mind that those people liked doing stuff like that, she didn’t even mind that Oliver was one of them, she just wasn’t comfortable being there.

“Oh. Okay, I guess… One more thing, though.”

Felicity raised her eyebrows in askance.

“I must’ve missed the video of last year’s prank, tell me about it?” he asked, so sincerely that Felicity just couldn’t say no.

She sighed and led him to a bench close by. “It really wasn’t as spectacular as everyone seems to remember it. It didn’t even go according to plan. My idea was to light a few hundred green and white wishing balloons, so I enlisted a bunch of freshmen to help.”

“They listened?” he asked in mock surprise.

“I promised to download some insanely expensive games they weren’t allowed to buy. And to upgrade the Playstation in their common room. Anyway, they all did what they were supposed to, but I didn’t really take a few security measures into account,” she said, slightly sheepishly.

Oliver frowned. “Security measures? Did you get caught?”

Waving away his question like it was ridiculous – because it was – she shook her head. “No, but I’d forgotten that we’d gotten wind of someone threatening to abduct some of the kids here by helicopter. So naturally, Sandford had installed an anti-aircraft detection system that I didn’t know about…”

She could almost see the cogs working in Oliver’s mind. “So… When you released the balloons…” he said, a slow grin starting to form on his face.

Felicity nodded. “The alarms went off, everyone was evacuated and led to the bunkers until the head of security noticed the little lights in the sky. Sandford almost had a nervous breakdown then and there. Of course, the freshman who had the video camera happened to be standing right next to the principal.”

Oliver burst out laughing. “Oh god, I can just imagine his face.”

“It was purple,” Felicity agreed calmly, suppressing the urge to laugh as well.

“You are remarkable, Felicity Smoak,” Oliver said, still grinning at her.

Felicity was fairly sure she was blushing. Furiously. “Thank you for remarking on it,” she replied.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while longer before Oliver suddenly stood up. “Come on, I’ll walk you back.”

Felicity raised a singly eyebrow. “It’s barely a hundred yards, Oliver, I’m not going to get lost.”

“Would you let me be a gentleman for once?” he asked, holding out a hand and helping her up.

Rolling her eyes, Felicity started in the direction of the upper class girls’ dorm. “Speaking of, did I see you talking to Malory Jackson?” she asked. It was meant as a completely innocent question, but Felicity couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed in Oliver’s playboy attitude.

“Yeah, but it was nothing. Not yet anyway. She seems to be under the impression that I’m a bad influence.” He was smiling again, but it wasn’t the sincere smile Felicity had started to recognize. This one was more… bitter somehow.

“I don’t think that. But you may want to wait longer than half a day before getting a new girlfriend. It kind of makes you look like a jerk,” she said. At Oliver’s raised eyebrow, she realized what she’d said. “Not that I think you’re a jerk!” she corrected hastily. “You’re really nice. Not that I mean that you’re a sap or anything, because you’re obviously a very manly… I mean you’re…” Felicity took a deep breath and actually thought before she spoke. “You’re a good guy, Oliver.”

Thankfully, Oliver just seemed amused by her babbling, instead of insulted or weirded out. “Thanks?” he more asked than said, still smiling at her.

“I’m sorry, I babble. Feel free to shut me up whenever I do that,” she explained, hoping he’d attribute the blush on her cheeks to the cold and not her obvious embarrassment.

Oliver chuckled. “Noted… We’re here,” he said, coming to a stop at the entrance to her building.

“Thanks for walking me,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ears self-consciously. She had no clue how to round off this conversation, and was suddenly not entirely sure she wanted to. “I’ll see you Monday?” she eventually managed.

“Oh, uhm, sure. Monday. Yeah,” he said, looking about as uncomfortable as she felt.

“Right. So… bye.” And with that, she turned around and walked into her building. She leaned against the wall right beside the door, out of Oliver’s line of sight. _‘Stupid, stupid! “I’ll see you Monday”? What kind of a stupid thing is that to say?’_ she scolded herself. _‘I am such an idiot…’_

Unbeknownst to Felicity, Oliver was mirroring her position and line of thought outside the building. _‘You’re an idiot, Oliver Queen,’_ he thought, pinching the bridge of his nose.


	9. Chapter 9

** Chapter 9: **

**Oliver POV**

Fall was rapidly making itself known as temperatures dropped down to the high 50s. Today marked the beginning of Thanksgiving break, and Oliver was waiting for the cars to come to take him and a handful of other students to the airstrip. He was finally going home! He couldn’t wait to see Thea and Tommy, and even the annual Thanksgiving party couldn’t curb his excitement. He’d invited Dean, but the other boy had declined, mentioning his own plans to spend the week in Miami with his own family.

Some of his other friends were there, too, everyone talking comfortably amongst themselves. Felicity wasn’t there.

He’d asked her about her plans, and she’d finally opened up about her family. Her mom was a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas, and as such, didn’t have the money to let Felicity take a bus over there, even if it was only a 3 hour drive. Mrs. Smoak had to work on Thanksgiving, which Oliver thought was completely unfair. Felicity herself wasn’t too broken up about it.

“I love my mom, but family gatherings with the family usually end with one or more of them getting arrested for disturbance of the peace or public intoxication,” she’d said dryly.

He’d gotten very close to inviting her to Starling, but then he pictured his mother taking one look at her and dismissing her, or Tommy thinking she was just another girl to seduce… He loved his family too, but he was fairly sure they were as messed up as hers, just differently.

“Dude, you’re spacing off,” Dean interrupted his thoughts.

Oliver blinked and looked at his friend. “Sorry, just thinking.”

Dean laughed. “Dangerous hobby. Before you know it you’ll be smart and stuff,” he joked. The comment only served to remind Oliver of the friend he was leaving behind.

“Wouldn’t want that,” he lied with his signature smirk. He was saved from further conversation by the sleek black SUV’s pulling up. Each of the cars had a driver and security guard seated in the front. Oliver thought it was a little over the top, but apparently a whole bunch of rich kids who could be ransomed were a tasty treat for kidnappers, so the security measures were deemed necessary.

He got into the back of a car with Dean and a girl he couldn’t remember the name of. Dean immediately started flirting, easier for him since he was in the middle, sitting next to her. Oliver didn’t mind.

His mind was a little preoccupied, he admitted to himself. Laurel had called him out of the blue, asking him to give their relationship another try. Since he was going to be home for a week anyway, he agreed, even though he was technically still dating Mallory. Felicity had given him the cold shoulder for a whole week when she’d found out.

“You’re better than this, Oliver, but you always sink down to the expectations of the idiots you surround yourself with!” she’d shouted at him when he’d finally managed to get her to talk. It had stung, coming from her, but he couldn’t exactly refute it. He was well aware of his shortcomings, but that was just who he was. Felicity kept insisting that he could be a better person… he didn’t know where she got the conviction to tell him that over and over again.

Truth be told, though, he hadn’t broken any laws since he met her, hadn’t even – technically – broken school rules, he had a higher GPA than he ever remembered getting, and yet he was still as popular as ever. He didn’t fool himself, he knew most of his friends cared about his wallet a lot more than they cared about him, but still… Hell, even his parents were proud of him, his mother had told him so in her last letter – who bothered with letter anymore these days? – and he’d felt an odd surge of pride at that. But when he pictured himself being faithful to Laurel, or any other girl for that matter, to always do as he was told… it disgusted him. But when Felicity asked, it was the most natural thing in the world.

That was what true friendship was, he supposed, to believe in the best of someone, and encourage them to always try harder. Tommy was that way too, in a way. He’d always gone along with Oliver’s plans, and he was as much of a playboy as Oliver, but during one of their rare serious moments, Tommy had said that he believed that Oliver was a good man, like it was a fact more than a hope.

Oliver shook his head. Who’d have thought that a girl like Felicity would ever give him the time of day, never mind try so hard to help him and be his friend…

They arrived at the airstrip soon after, and Oliver was waved off by Dean. Since his plane had the shortest way to go, it was the first to leave. He was finally going home.

/*/

“Ollie!” Speedy shrieked as she came tearing down the stairs and jumped into his arms. Oliver barely had enough time to drop his bag before his arms were full of eight-year-old-sibling.

“Hey, Speedy! I trust you’ve been keeping mom and dad on their toes for me?” he asked fondly. Thea showed no signs of letting go anytime soon, but she started babbling excitedly about everything she’d been up to since their last phone call. Raisa, their housekeeper stood in the background, looking amused while his dad came down the stairs, having followed the commotion, no doubt.

Oliver managed to force Thea to stand on her own two feet again as he nodded to his dad. He’d limited the contact he’d had with his parents, only reading and responding to his mother’s letters and calling Thea once a week. “Dad,” he greeted.

“I’m glad you’re home, Oliver,” his father said, smiling broadly at him. “Come, Raise has prepared quite the feast to celebrate your homecoming.”

Oliver couldn’t help his smile. Coming from his father, he might have just said ‘I love you’. He nodded again, handed his bag over to another servant, and followed his sister and father into the kitchen. “Not the dining room?” he asked curiously. Usually, even for family meals, they used the dining room. His mother claimed it was a waste of a good room to only use it on holidays.

“I figured after eating in a dining hall with the rest of your classmates for the past two months, you’d prefer a more… intimate setting,” his dad explained.

“Where’s mom?” Oliver asked curiously, as he sat down obediently next to Thea at the small kitchen table. She’d demanded that Oliver sit next to her, since she’d missed him the most.

“She’s dealing with some details about the Thanksgiving party. The Merlyn’s are coming, by the way,” his dad answered.

Oliver nodded, he was happy that his father was home for once, instead of working, as he always did. Thea claimed his attention again as she told Oliver of the beautiful young mare that she’d gotten as a present from their grandmother. “I named her Snowfoot, because it looks like she snow on her feet. She has black fur and she’s the sweetest horse ever, and I love her,” she proclaimed.

Oliver grinned at her. “Good for you, Speedy,” he said, and proceeded to mess up the little girl’s hair.

“Ollie! Dad! Oliver messed up my hair!” she yelled.

“Oliver, don’t tease your sister,” their dad said, amusement shining in his eyes. Thea looked like she was about to protest, but just at that moment, Raise served their lunch, and she was distracted.

Oliver settled easily back into his family’s dynamics. He looked forward to meeting up with Tommy tomorrow, and Laurel tomorrow evening. She was invited over for dinner, being with someone that his parents actually approved of made things a lot easier for him.

“So, Oliver, your mother and I got a progress report from Mrs. Brightley,” his dad started. That simple statement brought Felicity back to his mind, and he couldn’t help but imagine what a dinner at his house would look like with her unfiltered speech. Hilarious, probably. “She told us you were making progress.” His dad’s words erased the image of Felicity trying to explain something to Moira Queen far too quickly for his liking.

“Uhm, yeah. I’ve got B’s in most of my classes,” he managed to reply. If his dad told him he was proud of him, Oliver was fairly sure he’d never stop grinning.

“Except chemistry, it would seem.” And that effectively dashed any hopes he had of ever pleasing his parents.

“Yeah, I just don’t get that class. Felicity does her best, and she’s gotten my grades up to a C, so at least I’m passing,” he tried to explain. Thea had sunk down in her seat, probably feeling another argument coming. As Oliver’s dad frowns disapprovingly, Oliver whished he hadn’t mentioned Felicity. His parents knew about her, of course – they were paying her, after all – but they didn’t know that she’d become his friend. He needed to stop mentioning her, or eventually they’d hear the affection in his voice.

“You need to try harder, Oliver, if you’re ever going to be successful,” his dad admonished.

But Oliver didn’t want to hear it. “Dad, I have a 3.5 GPA, I have A’s in all but 3 classes, I’m already trying!” he argued, tensing even further. Raise stood silently against the wall behind his father, but she shot him a comforting look.

Hi dad would have none of it, though. “It’s a tough world out there, Oliver, and I’m glad that you’re finally putting some effort into your grades, but I need you to get that C out of the way, do you understand?” He’d said it in a mild tone, but Oliver could feel the urgency in his father’s voice, even if he didn’t understand why.

“I’ve never worked as hard as I have now, and my grades have never been higher either, I don’t know what you want from me!” Oliver shouted. He got up from the table without finishing his plate and went to his room. The door opened when he walked through the entrance hall, but he never looked up to see who it was.

Why couldn’t his parents ever just be proud of him? Why couldn’t they ever just love him for who he was?

/*/

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Oliver stopped in his tracks. He hadn’t been trying to _sneak_ , per se, but he’d have preferred his parents not knowing that he’d left. “Tommy’s,” he replied as nonchalantly as he could.

Moira Queen put her hands on her hips. “I haven’t even seen you, Oliver, I thought you were joining your father and Thea for lunch.” She didn’t sound angry, just confused. Good, that was something Oliver could work with.

“I know, I just haven’t seen him in a while either, and I’ll spend the rest of the week here, since Tommy’s going out of town in a few days. I’ll be back for dinner, I promise,” he said, walking over to her and kissing her cheek.

His mom didn’t look happy about it, more resigned. “Alright. Tell Tommy I said hi.”

Oliver grinned and went for the door. “Dinner’s at 6!” his mother shouted after him.

The driver was already standing by, and Oliver hopped in the back. “Tommy Merlyn’s house,” he said, and sat back.

It took them 20 minutes to get there, and Tommy was already waiting on the doorsteps. “Hey man, good to see you!” he said, hopping down the last few steps and putting an arm around his friend.

Oliver grinned and lightly elbowed him in the side. “As if you missed me, you had all the girls to yourself for a change. Tell me, did you finally manage to land a date?” he joked.

Tommy voiced a sound of indignation, and made a grab for Oliver’s head to give him a noogie. Oliver dodged and darted out of the way, while Tommy yelled a battle cry and pursued. The door had thankfully been left open, so the chase continued inside the house.

“You’re too slow, Merlyn!” Oliver yelled over his shoulder. He turned back just in time and skidded to a stop. Before him stood a woman in a black uniform, her hands on her hips and her face twisted in an expression he knew all too well. “Hi miss Margaret,” he said, as Tommy slammed into his back.

“Oomph. Sorry, miss Margaret. If it makes you feel any better, he started it,” Tommy said with a grin.

Margaret was the Merlyn’s English housekeeper, and she’d been around since before Tommy was born. Oliver had therefore known her just as long. “Oliver Queen, you’re back in Starling all of one day, and you’re already turning this house upside down again.”

Oliver grinned. “Yeah, I missed you too, miss Margaret.”

The woman rolled her eyes, patted his shoulder affectionately and turned around. “If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen. I’ll have Svetlana bring up some snacks for you boys.”

Oliver turned to his friend. “Svetlana?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tommy smirked. “New maid. Just turned eighteen and doesn’t speak a word of English. Margaret told me she was off limits, though.”

Oliver chuckled. “When has that ever stopped you?”

Putting an arm around Oliver’s shoulders, Tommy led the way upstairs. “Never. By the way, have you heard? Sony’s about to release a new handheld gaming console, the PSP. Maybe you’ll actually beat me on that one.”

This time, it was Oliver’s turn to look offended. “Oh you think you’re better than me, huh? Only in your dreams, Merlyn.”

“Actually, Queen, I have dreamt about the few million times I’ve beaten you in the past. They were pretty epic, after all.”

Oliver smirked, he’d have to remind his friend of reality, it seemed…


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to add dates to better keep track of when everything takes place. Hope you all enjoy it!

**Chapter 10:**

**Oliver POV ~ Saturday 11/22**

Oliver and Tommy had been playing for about an hour when his phone rang. They were tied for first place in a racing game Tommy had recently bought and Oliver was determined not to lose. Especially since he’d narrowly lost the last two races.

Pausing the game – despite Tommy’s protests – Oliver checked the display on his phone. Felicity. He got up and went to the hallway, still ignoring Tommy as he slid his phone open.

“Hey,” he said, somewhat breathlessly. He had seen Felicity only yesterday, but the fact that she was still in Nevada and he was in California somehow made it seem longer ago.

“Hey Oliver, I thought I’d check in,” she replied cheerfully.

Oliver couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re bored aren’t you?”

“No… Well, maybe a little. Not that FCA isn’t really cool and everything, even when it’s empty, but, you know…”

“It’s empty?” he guessed. Felicity, much as she may deny it, was a people person. She liked to be surrounded by the people she cared about, and she had issues about letting them go.

“Yeah… it feels kind of weird, not sitting on the bleachers waiting for your helicopter class to end, or ordering a coffee with Katie at the Starbucks here. By the way, I still think it’s ridiculous that we have a Starbucks on campus, I mean, they’re everywhere!” she babbled.

Laughing, Oliver leaned against the wall. “I’m sure they’re not at regular schools yet, just ours. Isn’t anyone left?”

Felicity sighed. “Well, Erica and Stephanie were the last to leave, since they’re going all the way up to Maine, but Dylan and Letty are still here. I mean, there are more people than that here, but those are the ones that I know, you know? Oh, did I tell you?” she asked excitedly.

“No, what?” He couldn’t help being excited for her, even though he didn’t even know what she was going to tell him. Felicity had that effect on a lot of people.

“Letty’s dad is picking her up on Thursday morning to drive her and Dylan to Vegas for Thanksgiving, since he’s got an apartment there. They’re celebrating together. Anyway, Letty offered to take me with them so I can go see my mom! I’m going to have to go back the same day, but it’s something, right?”

“Felicity, that’s amazing, I’m sure your mom’s going to be over the moon.”

“I’m sure she will be. I wanted to tell you first, so you’d stop feeling sorry for me and moping instead of having fun,” she teased. 

Oliver had, in fact been keeping that fact in the back of his mind ever since she told him she wasn’t going home for the holiday, and he’d wished he could do something for her, but it seemed that Letty was taking care of it for him. But he hadn’t expected her to pick up on how he’d felt, much less call him before her own mother. “Thanks, Felicity,” he said sincerely.

“You’re welcome,” she said simply, like it was nothing. “Look, I have to go, I’m meeting Letty at the pool, and afterwards we’re going to watch a movie in her room, no boys allowed,” she said cheekily. “Dylan will have to wait until tomorrow to hang with us.” Oliver could tell from her tone that she was smiling. 

“Sure, yeah, I’ve got to go too, I’m hanging out with Tommy, so…”

“Okay, bye, Oliver!” And with that, she hung up, and Oliver was left listening to silence. Talking to Felicity always left him feeling kind of… light, like the cheerfulness she always seemed to exude had somehow seeped into him as well.

He went back into Tommy’s room, to find the other boy had already turned the game back on and was just crossing the finish line.” Hey!”

Tommy shrugged unapologetically. “You’re the one who left, slowpoke, shouldn’t have taken so long.”

Oliver didn’t really mind, as he was still feeling the lightness from talking to Felicity, and he now had something to blame for losing, but he had to put up a token resistance. “It was barely two minutes, and you’re a cheater, Merlyn!”

“I would’ve beaten you anyway, Queen, admit it!”

“No way!” Oliver pounced on his lounging friend, but narrowly missed. He gave chase, and the game was on.

/*/

**Felicity POV ~ Sunday 11/23**

“So what’s going on with wonder boy?” Letty asked curiously as they left the changing rooms at the pool. Usually, Felicity would never go there, seeing as she was always pasty pale and didn’t have the goddess body that most of the rich girls at the school had, but seeing as they were some of the only people still there, she figured she could risk it. Also, Letty could probably pummel anyone who said anything rude.

“Boy wonder?” Felicity sked, setting down her towel on one of the lounge chairs nearby.

“Oliver Queen, richest guy at school, girl magnet, playboy, tabloid favorite… need me to spell it out?” she said sarcastically.

Felicity blushed. Oliver was her friend, and she honestly didn’t think she felt anything more than that, but she couldn’t help blushing whenever someone insinuated something more was going on. Then again, who wouldn’t? There was no arguing about the boy’s handsome looks. “Nothing, I’m his tutor, that’s all.”

“Weren’t you just calling him? Who calls their student during break?” Letty asked skeptically. She descended the steps into the shallow end of the pool, all the while looking as good as a girl of her fortune should. Letty was a little more rounded than most girls at the school, but they were all in the right places. She wasn’t afraid to wear a bikini, and she wore it well. Felicity on the other hand, was still very much the gawky teenager. Her mother kept telling her that she’d grown into her figure, but Felicity was almost sixteen, and she was giving up. Being surrounded by beautiful people all day wasn’t easy for a girl like her.

“Okay, fine, we’re friends. I was just letting him know that you were driving me to Vegas so I could see my mom. He was happy for me.” Felicity followed her sort-of friend into the pool and started walking to the deeper end.

“You called him just to tell him that?” Seriously, what would it take for people to stop assuming Felicity had feelings for Oliver? She hung out with Dylan too, sometimes, and no one had even insinuated something was going on there.

“He worries. He’d have just felt guilty about having fun while I was stuck here, it’s a friend thing. It’s a thing that friends do,” Felicity babbled. She could feel heat rising to her cheeks, and quickly dipped her head under the water to hide her blush. “Don’t you do that with Dylan?” she asked when she resurfaced.

Letty crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows skeptically. “Yes, but Dylan and I have been best friends for three years, and he doesn’t have a new girlfriend every week. You and Oliver have known each other, what, two months?” The dark-haired girl turned around and lowered herself to swim deeper. Letty was a bit shorter than Felicity, standing at 5 foot 2, so where she was already swimming, Felicity walked a little while longer.

“Two and a half, actually,” Felicity muttered. “Look, we’re just friends, okay, would you drop it? Please?” she pleaded.

Letty waved a hand and rolled her eyes. “Oh, fine. What do you want to talk about?”

Shrugging, Felicity turned to float on the water. “I don’t know, pick something. Or, wait, tell me about your Thanksgiving, you and Dylan celebrate it together, right?” she asked.

Letty grinned and launched into the tale of how Dylan had ended up having Thanksgiving dinner at her place for the first time. Felicity felt herself relax. She still had a week ahead of her, a week of nothing but relaxing, and the occasional little assignment her AP teachers insisted on giving her. Closing her eyes, she let Letty’s story wash over her, and smiled. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad this week, even though everyone was gone…

/*/

**Oliver POV ~ Sunday 11/23**

“Would you hurry up? Usually it’s me who needs more time to get ready!” Oliver shouted at Tommy through the bathroom door.

He raised his hand to knock on the door again, when it abruptly opened. “Relax, man, looking this good takes time,” Tommy joked, slipped past his friend, and made his way to the entrance hall. Oliver just rolled his eyes and followed.

“If it took you that long to look like that, I’d like to see how long it takes when you’re really trying,” he said dryly. “If we’re late to the party, you’re buying drinks.”

“It’s James Cogan’s party, the drinks are free,” Tommy countered as they bother got into the car outside of Oliver’s front door.

“I know, I meant next time we go out.” Oliver was fairly sure he was grinning smugly, but he didn’t really care. It felt good to go to another party with his best friend.

“Says the billionaire to the mere millionaire.” Holding a hand to his heart, Tommy feigned a hurt look. Oliver didn’t buy it.

“Your allowance is bigger than mine, quit whining.”

Tommy just grinned and settled back into the seat. It didn’t take them long to get to Cogan’s party, and even less long to locate the booze. As it turned out, they weren’t late, but Oliver was fairly sure he could still get Tommy to buy them drinks next time.

“Wow, you actually still showed up. You realize the party started half an hour ago, right?” Laurel asked with an easygoing smile as she walked up to the duo.

“Laurel, you of all people should know that the party only starts when we get here. Also, no one cool shows up on time,” Tommy joked, as Oliver wound an arm around Laurel’s waist. She was dressed beautifully, in a pale pink dress that was just short enough to show off her long legs. She really was gorgeous.

“Don’t mind him, Laurel, he’s just trying to get out of buying drinks next time we go out, the coward,” Oliver said, grinning at his friend.

“Well, now, that changes things, doesn’t it?” Laurel replied. “Do I need to remind you that you promised that last time, Merlyn?”

Oliver grinned. This was why he liked Laurel. He tended to forget about her wicked sense of humor and her smarts when she wasn’t around, but when she was right there, it was hard to ignore. “She got you there, buddy,” he said.

Cogan’s party turned out to be kind of fun, especially after the guy got thrown into his own pool. It was a little bit of a bummer when he told everyone to leave and threatened to call the cops. Tommy disappeared somewhere with some girl he’d met, and Oliver and Laurel snuck out to the garden while the house emptied out.

He kissed her behind a row of hedges that were strategically placed so that they couldn’t be seen from the window. He spared a single thought about Mallory, and felt a small stab of guilt. Not for cheating on her – though he probably should – but because of what Felicity would think of him if she could see him. That, of course, led to other thoughts he’d been trying to avoid ever since the Crowning ceremony. When he pulled away, he half expected Felicity to have taken Laurel’s place. He didn’t want to examine why it disappointed him to see his girlfriend instead of his best friend standing in front of him.

“Hi,” Laurel said, a little breathlessly.

“Hi.” Grinning, he leaned down to catch her lips again – the wrong shade of pink again – but Laurel turned her head. Oliver didn’t much care, he could just as well kiss her neck.  
“Oliver, maybe we should talk.”

Pulling back again, Oliver threw her a look. Talk about killing the mood. “About what? You’re here, I’m here, we can just have some fun.” He leaned back down, only to be pushed back again.

“Oliver, I don’t want to be just another quickie behind a bush. If we’re going to make it work this time…”

“We will, you and I always figure things out,” he replied smoothly, and pulled her close to embrace her. He knew Laurel always gave in to him when he did that, because she thought it showed more affection that he did for anyone else.

He could feel her smile into his neck. “Alright, we’ll talk about it later.” Oliver shivered when he felt her finally reciprocating his amorous mood. “But we’re still not doing it out here.”

 _‘Damn it,’_ Oliver thought.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi everyone! So, here's the next chapter! I know everyone wants Felicity and Oliver back at school, but that's going to have to wait another few chapters (like, 2... I think).   
> Also: Oh my god, I got 200 Kudo's??? You guys are awesome!!!  
> In this chapter, Felicity comes to a (sort of) realization, and there's another phone call between our two favorite people! Enjoy!

** Chapter 11: **

**Felicity POV ~ Monday November 24, 2002**

Felicity met up with Dylan and Letty the next day. They were hanging out in Letty’s room, since her roommate was out of town and she had the newest gaming console.

“Prepare to go down, I’m warning you in advance. I’m really good at videogames,” Dylan said smugly. Felicity loved that he could just relax and be himself when he was around Letty, without other people to bother him. He really came out of his shell on days like this, and it made her happy to see it, and that he felt comfortable enough to do so with her there.

“I don’t think so, you know I can beat your ass!” Letty exclaimed, grabbing the remote and plopping down onto one of the beanbags that had been arranged in front of the – frankly huge – TV.

Felicity was just glad she hadn’t worn a skirt. “Hey, how do you know I won’t win?” she asked innocently as she claimed the right-most seat and accepted a bottle of coke from Dylan. He handed one to Letty as well and grabbed a huge bag of chips.

“No offence, Felicity, but you haven’t played with us,” Letty said. “We can be pretty fierce when it comes to gaming.”

Felicity hid a smirk. They were in for a surprise. “Okay, I just hope I won’t end last,” she said. She let Letty and Dylan argue about which game to play. It was nice hanging out with them. She knew Dylan fairly well, but Letty was still ‘Dylan’s best friend’ in her mind, and it was fun getting to know her, and them as a pair. Unbidden, Felicity’s mind wandered back to what Letty had said the previous day, about her and Oliver. She supposed that on the surface – knowing Oliver’s reputation – one might think that they’re involved, but when you looked deeper… Felicity was well aware that Oliver valued friendships – real friendships – far more than his short-lived relationships, and she was proud that she could call herself his friend, for the most part.

It just bugged her that he sometimes couldn’t see how great he could be. Modest was not a word that most people would associate with Oliver Queen. The guy could be cocky as hell, not to mention arrogant, but… that was all surface stuff. On the inside, Felicity believed that he thought he wasn’t really worth it, that most people only liked him for his money and his name. He just couldn’t see what a great guy he could be, the great guy he _was_ when he was with his true friends. She’d seen it when he was on the phone with his best friend, Tommy, and she liked to believe that he was that way with her, too.

So, did she have feelings for Oliver? He was definitely hot, and when she’d first seen him, she’d been more than a little flustered, even though he hadn’t noticed her at the time. Which was understandable, since she’d only glanced him from across the East Garden. So did she have feelings for him? She wasn’t sure, but she wouldn’t want to endanger that friendship, that bond that was so much more important to him than anything romantic.

Of course, if he changed his mind and started being more considerate towards his girlfriends…

“What are you blushing at?” Letty asked suddenly, breaking through her reverie. The other girl was definitely smirking, and Felicity knew her well enough to know that she’d never hear the end of this.

“Nothing, have you decided what to play?” she asked in a lame attempt to divert attention from herself. Dylan just looked at her skeptically, but Letty decided to let her go.

“No, this dumbass seems to think he can beat me in every game, but he’s obviously wrong and I don’t want to hurt his feelings too much by soundly thrashing him, so we can’t agree. Any suggestions?”

Felicity grinned. “A few…”

/*/

**Oliver POV ~ Thursday November 27**

He didn’t mind Thanksgiving, per se. It just happened that things in his family tended to… explode on that particular holiday.

As usual, they were hosting a huge party that night, to which everyone who was anyone was invited. Before that, though, they had a private family dinner. That when stuff usually hit the fan. Oliver wasn’t an idiot, and he knew his parents sometimes had problems, that they argued, and that his dad sometimes left on unexpected business trips after another argument with his mom. Things like that tended to come out on the one day a year when they were supposed to feel grateful for everything they had.

“Thea, dear, why don’t you start by telling us what you feel grateful for?” Moira asked. She was seated at one head of the table, with Oliver’s dad on the other side, and Oliver and Thea in the middle, also facing each other. They were about as far removed from each other as was possible.

Thea beamed. “I really, really love my horse, and I’m happy that Ollie’s home,” she said proudly, grinning at her brother. Oliver couldn’t help but grin back. They’d argued just the day before that Thea should keep her barbies out of his room, but any discord between the siblings was always quickly forgotten.

“Well, I’m grateful Oliver’s finally getting better grades, I’m proud of you darling,” Moira said, also smiling at Oliver. He was beginning to feel a little like there was too much attention on him. Not that he minded so much, but he was unused to all the positive things everyone had to say.

“Oh leave the boy’s school out of this, Moira, he doesn’t need to be reminded of it every day,” Robert said tersely. Oliver exchanged a look with his sister. She might have only been eight, but she was clever enough to know that things would start to go wrong again very soon.

“I can’t remind my son of something good he did? Or do you think that he should only reprimand him?” Moira fired back. Yup, Shit, meet fan, fan meet shit.

“That’s not what I said, and you know it! I was merely pointing out that he’s only home for a week and we’ve already talked to him about his rapport card.”

“You mean you’ve talked to him. And as usual, you said the wrong thing again.”

“Are you implying that I’m not a good father, Moira?” Robert shot back, his voice rising.

“Well,” Oliver interrupted loudly. “Doesn’t anyone want to know what I’m grateful for?”

His mom and dad looked at him, a slightly puzzled look on their faces, as if they’d forgotten they’d had an audience. His mother recovered first. “Of course, darling, go ahead.”

As both of his parents shifted in their seats, Oliver realized he hadn’t actually thought of anything to say. He’d just wanted to keep his parents from fighting over Thanksgiving dinner. “Well… Raisa’s cooking for one. And Speedy, of course,” he said, managing not to stumble over his words. What else? What else was he grateful for. A certain brunette immediately popped up in his mind, but he didn’t exactly want to explain to his parents what Felicity meant to him, so he said the next best thing. “And Laurel. I’m glad she’s forgiven me for being an idiot. And for being home. For being able to be myself,” _even though that’s a lie_ “and have everyone I care about here tonight.”

His dad looked mildly chastised. “I’m grateful for my children. I know I don’t say it a lot, but I do love you two.” Moira was conspicuously left out of the equation, but thankfully Thea didn’t notice. She beamed at her father. “I love you too, daddy!”

Oliver just nodded at his dad. He wasn’t good with feelings like that, and he supposed he’d gotten it from his father. The man just accepted it with a nod of his own.

“Well, I think that means it’s time for dinner then,” Moira said, and called for Raisa. The Russian housekeeper came in, followed by two maids holding platters of various foods. Dinner was delicious, and conversation was kept light, mostly carried by his mom and Thea. She told them all about her new horse and how much she loved her riding lessons and how impatient she was to learn how to jump and gallop properly.

“Before you know it, you’ll be winning medals,” Robert said fondly.

When his mom looked ready to say something scathing, Oliver interrupted again. “I invited the Lance’s tonight, had I mentioned that? I figured Laurel’s family wouldn’t let her come if they weren’t all invited.”

“Yes, you mentioned that,” Moira said, at the same time as Robert said: “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, well, with me and her getting back together, she thought it’d be a good idea for our families to spend time together. Her words not mine,” Oliver said hurriedly, holding up his hands, before they could start arguing again.

“Is Sarah coming? I like her, she’s nice to me,” Thea said, unaware of the tension in the room.

“Uhm, I guess so,” Oliver replied. “They’re all coming, Mr. and Mrs. Lance, too.”

“How lovely, I’ve been meaning to ask Dinah to come over for lunch, but I’ve been so busy lately,” Moira said. Since Oliver and Tommy had known Laurel since they were in primary school, their parents had met on various occasions, but they weren’t exactly close. The only reason they even knew Laurel was because her mother was a professor and pulled some strings to get her girls admitted to the expensive private school.

“Yeah, well, I’m going to get my jacket from my room, I’ll be right back,” Oliver said. He just needed to get away for a while. He loved his family, and most days they actually got along fine, even his parents, but on days like these, he was glad he was usually away at boarding school.

“Oliver, you haven’t even finished your dinner,” Moira protested, but Oliver had already gotten up and was heading towards his room. Once he was out of earshot, he got out his phone and dialed the only number he had on speed dial.

“Hey, Oliver, what’s up?” Felicity asked over the background noise. Oliver swore he heard the telltale pings and clattering of slot machines.

“Where are you?” he asked as he walked up the stairs to his room.

“The Paradise Casino and hotel. I’m waiting for my mom to get off for the night and Gary the bartender is entertaining me.”

Oliver raised his eyebrows. “They let you into a casino? Scratch that, they let you near the bar?” he asked incredulously.

“They know me here,” she said matter-of-factly. He could just picture her sitting on a barstool, shrugging casually at his question. “So why d’you call? I figured you’d be having a huge Thanksgiving meal right about now.”

Oliver rubbed his neck awkwardly. Why _had_ he called her? Honestly, he just wanted to hear her voice, he hadn’t really thought about it. But he could hardly tell her that. “No reason, just bored.”

Felicity paused. “Are you sure? Because…”

“Because what?” he asked. She couldn’t have known about his parents. No one knew that they argued, he hadn’t even told Tommy.

“Well…” Right about now, she’d be biting her lip, debating whether or not to say whatever was on her mind.

“Spit it out, Felicity.”

“You did that thing with your voice that you do when you’re upset,” she said quickly.

Oliver blinked. “I… What?”

“You know that thing. Your voice gets all low and you… you know what, it doesn’t matter, just tell me what’s wrong, I’m not doing anything anyway.”

Oliver was confused. He did something with his voice when he was upset? He had no clue, and how had Felicity figured that out? He sighed, it hardly mattered, there was no lying to Felicity. “My parents got into another argument over dinner. I only just managed to stop them from starting to throw stuff… I don’t care that they fight, but Thea and I were right there, and Thea… She still thinks the world of mom and dad…”

“Again?” Felicity gently prodded. Her heard her move to a place where there was less noise.

“Yeah, they… They get along most days, but there are times when I think… Sometimes I think they just put up with each other for our sake, Thea and mine, I mean. And then others when I think they’re the happiest couple ever and… I don’t know. I just needed to get away from it for a little while.”

Though Felicity didn’t reply right away, the silence didn’t bother Oliver. It was like she was right there, comforting him by just being there. “I wouldn’t know what that’s like,” she said eventually, her voice soft. “My dad left when I was little, and I don’t remember all that much. I remember being hurt, I remember the pain, but other than that… I don’t think my parents ever fought, he just… left. Without a warning.”

“Felicity… I’m sorry. You’ve… you’ve never told me that.”

“I never tell anyone that. Most people just assume my parents are divorced or my dad’s dead and they don’t ask. Truth is, I wouldn’t even know if that was the case. My parents were never married, and I have my mom’s last name, so…”

Oliver sunk down onto his bed. He really shouldn’t complain, should he. Felicity had gone thought stuff too, and she was… She was still the same, amazing Felicity Smoak. “I guess I should be happy my parents are still together and still love me and my sister, huh?”

“Just because other people have sadder storied, doesn’t mean you can’t be sad about yours, Oliver. If that were the case, the only person on Earth allowed to be miserable would be whoever had the saddest story, and I can guarantee you that it’s no one on this side of the globe.”

That surprised a chuckle out of him. “Felicity Smoak, source of wisdom.”

She laughed. “I’m not sure about wisdom, but I’m kind of awesome, aren’t I?” she said cheekily.

“More than kind of,” he agreed.

They lapsed into silence again. Oliver was probably raking up quite the phone bill, but if his parents asked, he could always say that he needed to talk to her about school. He decided to do something impulsive. “Do you want to watch a movie Sunday? Dean’s not due back until Monday, so I have my room to myself for once. I promise there will be no laundry in sight,” he joked.

“Oh, uhm. Sure, yeah, sounds fun,” she replied, and he could hear the grin in her voice. “Yeah, it’s a date. Oh, but not a date, date. I meant like a friend date, not… not anything, you know, other than that, ‘cause you know, I don’t…”

“Yeah, I got what you meant,” Oliver said, chuckling. Other people might find it weird, but he found her babbling was kind of adorable. “I’ll talk to you then?”

“Sure, okay.”

“Until Sunday then, Felicity Smoak.”

“Until Sunday, Oliver Queen.”

And with that, he hung up, grabbed his jacket and went back downstairs. He could face the world again after talking to Felicity. He just hoped she’d always be there for when it got to be too much for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm sorry to say that writer's block has hit me hard, and I've only written about 2 paragraphs for chapter 12. I know (roughly) what is supposed to happen, but it's just not coming out... Never fear, though, because I will jump off a bridge before I let my precious updating schedule fall to the wayside.  
> Please review and inspire me, people! This is a mutually beneficial relationship, fellow Oliciters, so if you review, I write more! :)  
> Until next week!


	12. Chapter 12

** Chapter 12: **

**Felicity POV ~ Thursday November 27 ~ 1 pm**

Felicity looked down at her phone. It was a crappy old one, but she’d soon be able to buy a new one, with the money from her tutoring sessions with Oliver. It made her feel a tiny bit greedy to get money for something that she would now gladly do for free, but her mother was struggling enough as it was, and Felicity didn’t want to put that kind of burden on her. She was tempted to call Oliver, but she was fairly sure he was busy with his family.

Felicity sighed as she put it away. She was sitting in Letty’s dad’s car – and holy crap, it must’ve cost a fortune! – and they were almost at her destination. Letty and Dylan had their heads together, whispering about something. She’d initially joined their conversation, but an hour and a half into the drive, she’d felt too tired to do more than listen. She was excited to see her mom again, but also a little nervous. Thanksgiving was usually a fun holiday, but her mom was a pretty horrible cook, so they’d probably get Chinese take-out.

“Where to now?” Letty’s dad, Mr. Bennet, asked from the front seat. Felicity had noticed that while he was nice enough, he didn’t talk much, and when he did, it tended to sound a little gruff. She could imagine that some people would get insulted by that, but she didn’t mind. It was kind of obvious that he wasn’t used to his own wealth yet, though, judging from the faded jeans and checkered shirt.

“Just take the next right, and you can drop me off there. Mom’s not home from work yet, so she asked me to wait for her,” Felicity replied. Mr. Bennet just grunted absentmindedly as he took the turn. “There, that’s it, mom said I could wait in the back,” Felicity explained. They’d stopped in front of the employees entrance to the Paradise Casino, where her mom was a cocktail waitress.

Mr. Bennet turned off the engine and leaned back to look at her. “You sure? You can wait at our place until your mom can pick you up,” he suggested. Letty nodded helpfully, while Dylan stayed out of it.

Felicity shook her head. “No thanks, Mr. Bennet. My mom doesn’t have a car, and we don’t live very far. One of the bouncers always walks us home, we’ll be fine. Thanks, though.”

Mr. Bennet nodded and turned back to the front, so that his daughter and Dylan could say goodbye to their friend in peace.

“We’ll be back to pick you up at 11pm, got that?” Letty asked, leaning over and hugging her. Felicity wasn’t really used to Letty’s hugs yet – the other girl usually never hugged anyone, except maybe Dylan – but returned it gratefully.

Dylan leaned across his best friend to awkwardly hug Felicity as well. “Have fun, we’ll see you tonight!”

Felicity got out and stepped into the Las Vegas air. It shouldn’t feel any different from the air at the academy, but somehow it did. She liked Las Vegas, though the constant stream of tourists and the far-too-active night life was a little much for her. Still, she could appreciate the glitter and glamour of it. If nothing, the city – and the security guards and croupiers – had taught her some valuable tricks and life-lessons.

She waved as Mr. Bennet’s car turned around in the street and disappeared around a corner. Sighing, Felicity walked up to the employee’s door and pressed the buzzer. She smiled at the camera hanging over the door and waited to be buzzed in. The door opened of its own accord and a beefy, tall black man stood in front of her.

She grinned at him. “Hey Mr. Jay, how’s your wife?” she asked, slipping past him into the building.

“Hey little girl. Sheila’s fine, wondering when she’s going to get to see her ‘miracle worker’ again. Why don’t you and your mom come over for dinner again sometime? It’s been ages,” he replied with a big smile, following her.

Mr. Jay was built like a bear – all muscle – and always wore a nice suit when he was on duty. He was one of the casino’s bouncers, and she really liked him. She’d known him since she was ten. “You know I can’t travel back and forth that easily, Mr. Jay, but you’re welcome to ask mom. I know she’d appreciate the company. And I’m not a miracle worker, the only reason little Jay listens to me is because I bribe the little devil with ice cream,” she said with a grin. Mr. Jay and Sheila’s son wasn’t actually named ‘little Jay’, but Felicity liked to call him that. Little NAME was only four, but he was shaping up to be as big and strong as his daddy.

Mr. Jay just grinned right back. “Listen, your mom’s finishing her shift in one of the back rooms, but you can sit at the bar. Just don’t tell anyone your age.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “Gary knows how old I am, and it’s not like he’d ever serve me alcohol, regardless. I bet that in 20 years he still won’t do it, for fear that my mom’s going to come after him.” Gary was only 27, and he’d been working at the Paradise as a barkeep for 2 years, but we got along great. He was really funny, really good-looking, and really scared of my mom. “Besides, if any of the customers ask, I’ll just start with the techno-babble, they can just assume I’m an MIT graduate already,” she continued.

Mr. Jay grinned, and left her at the bar in the main hall of the casino. Felicity barely had time to hop on a barstool and say hello to Gary when her phone rang. It was Oliver. “Hey, Oliver, what’s up?” she asked cheerfully, hoping he could hear her over the din.

“Where are you?” he asked curiously. Obviously, the noise was enough to distract him from whatever he’d wanted to talk to her about. She humored him.

“The Paradise Casino and hotel. I’m waiting for my mom to get off for the night and Gary the bartender is entertaining me,” she replied, winking at the guy in question. Gary rolled his eyes and set a coke in front of her. She definitely did _not_ stick out her tongue at him, no matter what he may have claimed.

“They let you into a casino? Scratch that, they let you near the bar?” he asked incredulously.

Felicity was vaguely tempted to ask him if he was jealous or make some remark about her maturity, but decided against it. She was weird enough without saying stuff like that anyway. “They know me here,” she replied, shrugging. “So why d’you call? I figured you’d be having a huge Thanksgiving meal right about now.”

“No reason, just bored.”

Well, that was a lie if ever she heard one. “Are you sure? Because…” she trailed off, biting her lip. She really shouldn’t say stuff like this, what if he thought she was some kind of crazy stalker?

“Because what?” he prompted.

“Well…” On the other hand, he was her friend, and he should know about her weird quirks by now. In fact, he should be expecting them!

“Spit it out, Felicity.”

 _‘Oh fine, have it your way.’_ “You did that thing with your voice that you do when you’re upset,” she said quickly. Oliver didn’t reply right away. Yup, that was definitely a mistake, she should really just have changed the subject. _‘Nice weather we’re having, despite the fact that we’re a whole state apart… Yeah, great plan, Felicity,’_ she berated herself.

“I… What?” he said finally.

“You know, that thing. Your voice gets all low and you… you know what, it doesn’t matter, just tell me what’s wrong, I’m not doing anything anyway,” she said, slipping off the barstool and motioning to Gary that she would be right back.

Oliver sighed and finally told her about the fight between her parents. Felicity did pick up on something, though. “Again?” Felicity gently prodded. It sounded like the Queen household wasn’t quite as harmonious as the tabloids seemed to think it was. Or they were just very discreet. She’d finally reached the bathroom and hopped onto the counter. Luckily it wasn’t very echo-y in there.

When he explained about his situation at home, Felicity felt for him. It must not be easy living like that, and trying to shelter his little sister. On the other hand, she envied him the home life he had. At least if her parents had ever argued, she’d known her dad was still there. “I wouldn’t know what that’s like,” she said eventually, her voice soft. “My dad left when I was little, and I don’t remember all that much. I remember being hurt, I remember the pain, but other than that… I don’t think my parents ever fought, he just… left. Without a warning.”

“Felicity… I’m sorry. You’ve… you’ve never told me that.” She was a little surprised herself, she never told anyone about that. And then she proceeded to tell him that as well. It was strange. Most people saw Oliver as this conceited, dumb trust-fund kid, but that wasn’t what she saw. Oliver was kind and loyal to those few lucky ones he’d chosen, he was a good listener, and wasn’t nearly as vain and self-centered as everyone thought he was. Sure, he might be a little too much of a hedonist, but his family sort of explained that.

They talked some more about their fates and how it sucked, and then suddenly: “Do you want to watch a movie Sunday?” he asked. Felicity was dumbfounded. Was he asking her on a date? What should she say? She was spared an answer when Oliver just went on talking. “Dean’s not due back until Monday, so I have my room to myself for once. I promise there will be no laundry in sight,” he joked.

Ah, a friend thing then. She could live with that. Despite her pondering on the subject of Oliver Queen and whether or not she may have feelings for him, she was so not ready to start thinking of it in a real, practical, it-could-someday-be-true-and-reciprocated sort of way. “Oh, uhm. Sure, yeah, sounds fun,” she replied when she finally found her voice. “Yeah, it’s a date. Oh, but not a date, date. I meant like a friend date, not… not anything, you know, other than that, ‘cause you know, I don’t…” And there was the babbling again. A woman had just walked into the bathroom and gave her a weird look before hurrying out – without washing her hands, too, yuk!

Luckily, Oliver just brushed off her babble-fall and told her he’d talk to her Sunday. Felicity hung up and stared at her phone. She knew it wasn’t a date, but still… it felt like it meant something more than just a movie night with a friend. Maybe she should invite Dylan or Letty to diffuse the situation somewhat? But what if that turned awkward? It wasn’t like Oliver was really friends with either of them, and Stephanie and Erica were definitely out of the question. And what would Katie say?

She sighed. There was really no point in worrying about all that in advance, it was only Thursday, and the… whatever it was, was only taking place Sunday evening. She could worry about it then. Resolved, she stepped back out of the bathroom. And ran straight into one of the waitresses.

“Felicity?” the blonde woman asked as she picked herself off the floor.

“Mom? Oh, I’m so sorry!” she apologized hastily and started picking up the shards to the three wineglasses her mom had been carrying on a platter.

“No, honey, you’ll cut yourself,” she said, lightly smacking her hands aside. “You stay here and I’ll go get a broom.”

Felicity frowned at the retreating form of her mother. She sounded so distracted, which was unusual for Donna Smoak. Once the woman focused on something, it was a little like a pittbull, she wouldn’t let go anytime soon. Her mom was wearing the usual extremely short, brightly colored cocktail dress and an apron, and of course her four-inch feels. Then again, it was Thanksgiving, and though there weren’t as many people here as usual, there was still a crowd, and they were a lot ruder than you’d expect during this particular holiday. She probably had a good reason for being so distracted.

Anyway, Felicity was soon distracted from her line of thought when her mom came back – sans apron – and swept up the glass. “Ready to go home, sweetie?” mom asked enthusiastically.

Felicity grinned right back. “Of course!”

They went by the security desk and Mr. Jay walked them home. Felicity’s mom was still a little distracted, but happily listened to her daughter ramble on about school and her friends – minus one Oliver Queen, she wasn’t quite ready to tell her mom about _that_ yet. “Hey, mom?” she said after a small pause in the conversation.

“Yeah, sweetie?”

“I love you, you know that, right?” Felicity said, grabbing her mom’s hand as they neared their apartment building.

Her mom smiled warmly down at her. “Of course I know that, darling, and I love you too. Which is why I got Sheila to make us one of her delicious chocolate cakes,” she replied with a grin.

Beaming, Felicity squeezed her mom’s hand. “Good.”


	13. Chapter 13

** Chapter 13: **

**Oliver‘s POV ~ Thursday 27 November**

Looking back, the Thanksgiving party wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Oliver had spent the obligatory hour and a half mingling – i.e. standing in a corner with Tommy – until Thea’s bedtime. After he’d wished his little sis goodnight, him, Tommy and Laurel had snuck outside to the Jacuzzi. Tommy had made sure to nab some of Oliver’s dad’s best booze, too.

When last Oliver had seen his girlfriend’s parents, they were discussing something with his mother. He dreaded knowing the topic of that particular conversation, especially with the looks Mrs. Lance and his mom kept shooting him.

Laurel – while not one to usually partake in excessive drinking as Tommy and Oliver often did – was pleasantly buzzed, and wasn’t paying much attention to the rest of the world anymore. She kept humming the same few lines of Hot in Here by Nelly. It was fairly annoying, but as long as she didn’t belt it out loud, Oliver didn’t mind overly much.

Tommy and him had spent most of the night catching up on whatever they hadn’t talked about when they’d gone out earlier that week. Apparently, Tommy was working on a list. It contained all the names of all the girls he’d already been with and all the girls he still had to ‘enlighten to the Merlyn charm’, as he put it. Privately, Oliver thought it was a pretty dumb idea to keep a list of all the girls he’d discarded, even if not all of them hated him. Oh well, at least Oliver had blackmail material now.

Oliver had also spent an inordinate amount of time staring at his phone, thinking of the one person he wanted to talk to most. It was a little startling how much he’d come to depend on Felicity’s level-headedness, her advice, and her way of dealing with him. He also felt a little guilty for not thinking of Tommy as his best friend anymore.

Regardless, he couldn’t exactly call her again, when he’d already bothered her earlier that day. He’d sent a text a few hours ago, wishing her and her mom a happy Thanksgiving, but he refused to give in and call her like some sticky, dependent boyfriend or something.

Not that he felt anything of the sort towards her, of course. At all.

/*/

**Felicity POV**

Felicity’s Thanksgiving had been… interesting. Her mom had been subdued the entire (short) walk home, but once there, had gone a little overboard with the holiday spirit. She’d actually tried to cook a whole chicken, and when that plan went up in flames – literally – she’d ordered in from the Chinese place around the corner. She just kept on talking, barely letting Felicity get a word in edgewise, except when they talked about school.

Felicity had put her worries about her mom’s distracted state aside, and had talked animatedly about her growing friendship with Letty, her courses and, of course, her best friend Katie. Felicity hadn’t wanted to mention Oliver too often, because she knew exactly which conclusions her mother would pull from their friendship, and she so wasn’t ready to think of Oliver in _that_ light yet.

But she had found herself checking her phone more often than was strictly polite. She’d gotten a text from Oliver, wishing her and her mom a happy Thanksgiving – complete with little smiley face – but other than that, he hadn’t tried to contact her. Not that she was hoping he would, she wasn’t that desperate, or needy, but she couldn’t help the small stab of disappointment she felt whenever she looked at her phone, and it was still blank.

When her phone did go off, signaling a text halfway through the Charlie Brown movie she’d been watching with her mom, Felicity had nearly jumped off her seat, scrambling for the device and reading it.

It was from Katie. “Hey, mom? Katie just texted me,” she said.

Her mom looked up and muted the TV. They’d seen that movie so often they had memorized it anyway. “What about, sweetie?”

“Well… She invited me to spend Christmas and New Year’s at her parents’ mansion in Gotham…” Felicity explained, a little hesitantly. Christmas, or Hanukkah, as the case was for Felicity, was never a very happy holiday in the Smoak household. Her mom wasn’t religious, Jewish or otherwise, but her father had loved celebrating the holiday. Which was one of the reasons it hurt so much when he left the week before. Ever since then, her mom hadn’t been the biggest fan of the season, and didn’t really like celebrating it. Oh, she bought what presents she could for Felicity, but there was no big meal, no family get-together, no tree, no menorah and no dreidel. Though her mom always made sure that there were plenty of doughnuts and latkes for Felicity.

As such, talking about the holidays was not something that was done very often in the Smoak household. New Year’s on the other hand, was celebrated as lavishly as they could afford, because Donna Smoak loved pointing out that it was a new beginning, and that there would never come an end to the new beginnings it gave you. So, naturally, the question was difficult in its two-sidedness.

“Oh honey, spending Hanukkah in a mansion or here in our tiny apartment? There’s no choice in that, of course you should go! Wait, Katie knows you’re Jewish, right?” she asked.

Felicity bit her lip. “Mom, are you sure? I could always spend some time there during summer break, it doesn’t have to be during the holidays…”

Her mom waved it away. “Oh, honey. Go party it up with millionaires. Who knows, maybe Katie has a cute cousin,” she teased, lightly elbowing Felicity in the side.

Felicity laughed. “I’ve seen pictures of her cousins, mom, and I’m going to say ‘no thanks’ right now.”

Her mom smiled and pulled her daughter in for a hug. “You go and have fun there, I’ll be fine here, I promise to spend some time with Sheila and Jay. That little rascal of theirs might need some lessons from me.”

“In what?” Felicity asked with a raised eyebrow. “How to mix the perfect martini? Because I think he’s a little young for that.” She grinned to show her mom she was only kidding, and Donna took it in a stride.

“I’ll have you know I have lots of useful things to teach… like how you know if the house has a good hand, and what slot machines are the best ones,” she teased, letting Felicity go and moving to the kitchen. “Do you want popcorn?”

“Sure, so long as you don’t burn it!” She heard her mom huff in the kitchen, and had to hold back a giggle.

“I think I can manage to press a button on a microwave without burning it, honey,” she replied, a little testily. Felicity just laughed some more.

/*/

And so it was with a light heart that Felicity returned to FCA with Letty and Dylan. Along the way, they regaled her with tales of how Letty’s aunt May managed to drop an entire bowl of mashed sweet potatoes onto grandpa Lucas’s lap, and how Dylan’s single mom had flirted with Letty’s divorced uncle. All in all, it was a fairly pleasant ride back.

Felicity told them about growing up with Casino personnel as her closest ‘family’, and how Mr. Jay had taught her how to properly punch a guy, one of the croupiers had taught her all the tricks of Texas Hold ‘em, and a waitress friend of her mom’s had showed her how to make alcohol-free cocktails that still gave enough of a zing for the untrained to think that it was alcoholic. One of the former bouncers had also taught her how to pick a lock, but she figured she shouldn’t tell her friends that little titbit just yet.

It was past midnight when they finally arrived at the Academy, and the security guards escorted them back to their buildings. The first of the students would be returning tomorrow, so it was their last night having the building almost to themselves. While Dylan was in his own room, and therefore not free to sneak out to them, Letty’s room was only one floor down from Felicity’s, so the two girl made themselves comfortable on the couch and put on a movie. They had decided on The Lord of the Rings, since the sequel was coming out in December, even though Letty had argued that they should watch Training Day, because that movie had actually won an Oscar. Felicity couldn’t be outstubborned, though.

While Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship were resting in Lothlorien on the screen, Felicity surreptitiously got her phone out and checked her messages.

_My room at 7 tomorrow. There’ll be popcorn ;) – Oliver_

She grinned and texted back. _Okay, what movie? – F_

She was about to set her phone down again, but was surprised when she got a text back right away. _That Peter Jackson movie? I know you like that fantasy stuff – O_

Felicity couldn’t suppress an eye-roll – luckily, Letty had gotten engrossed in the movie after all. _Already watching it tonight, but I’ll gladly watch it again if you haven’t seen it, you barbarian – F_

His reply took a minute, and by now, Frodo was looking into Galadriel’s mirror on the TV, while Letty was munching popcorn with wide eyes. “They’re not really going to burn down the Shire, right?” she asked anxiously.

Grinning, Felicity poked her friend. “And you said this wasn’t going to be a good movie. Read the books if you want to know.”

Letty scrunched up her nose in disgust, but didn’t reply.

_How about The Fast and the Furious? It’s about street racing, but I’ve heard it’s really good – O_

Felicity could just imagine the puppy-eyes that boy would use to get her to watch it.

_Oh, fine ;) but you’re getting the snacks! – F_

She sat back to enjoy the movie, then, trying not to let her phone distract her anymore. She vaguely wondered what Oliver was up to on his last night at home. She could almost imagine him sitting by an indoor pool, a waiter standing behind his lounge chair with a fruity cocktail on a platter. Oliver in swimming trunks, Oliver coming out of the pool as he sweeps his wet hair back, little droplets of water clinging to…

Felicity blushed furiously, and pressed her hands to her cheeks for fear that Letty would feel the heat coming off of them. Where had _that_ mental image come from? Hadn’t she just decided that her friendship with Oliver was far too important to risk over some stupid crush? Felicity screwed her eyes shut and pressed her face into a pillow. This could not be happening. Sure, Oliver was extremely handsome, and funny, and compassionate, and kind of adorable… but she couldn’t do this, there was no future there. It’s not like Oliver would ever look at her like that…

/*/

**Friday 28 November**

Considering they’d only arrived back at FCA by midnight, one would think they’d be smart enough not to watch a three-hour-long movie afterwards, but then again, they were teenagers.

Felicity and Letty had finished the movie, after which Letty had promptly fallen asleep. Felicity had merely made sure she was comfortable and had draped a blanket over her, before crawling into bed herself.

Naturally, she’d forgotten to turn off her 8 o’ clock alarm. Letty had slept through it, but Felicity had jolted awake, still very much in the middle of her dream. A dream in which one Oliver Queen had played a central part. After that rude awakening there was no way Felicity was getting back to sleep now. She hopped in the shower and then resolved to wake her friend up.

Standing behind the couch, Felicity gingerly shook Letty’s shoulder. The other girl, in response, flailed wildly and fell off of the couch. Looking around madly, and obviously still half-asleep, Letty mumbled, “What? Who’s in my…” Then she spotted Felicity. “Oh. What are you doing over there?” she asked sleepily as she dragged herself up from the floor.

Felicity grinned. “Dylan’s told me all about how you usually wake up. I’d rather avoid a bloody nose.”

Letty actually blushed at that. “Oh. Well, I should get out of your hair,” she said, gathering her stuff.

Felicity quickly walked around the couch and stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Hey, no, it’s okay. I just figured you didn’t want to sleep the day away. Do you want to go get breakfast together?” she asked kindly. She wasn’t sure where Letty’s embarrassment suddenly came from, but she wasn’t just going to let the other girl flounder.

Letty shot her a grateful look. “Sure.” She grabbed her jacket and shrugged it on. “I’m hoping for pancakes with blueberry syrup,” she went on, seeming perfectly normal again.

Felicity just laughed and preceded her friend out the door. Casting a last look at her room, she was glad that the movie night was going to be in Oliver’s room and not hers. She smiled to herself, feeling excitement rising up inside, unbidden, but then she shoved it down and firmly told herself it _wasn’t a date._

Unfortunately, that did nothing for the butterflies she felt.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The movie night!

** Chapter 14: **

**Oliver POV ~ Saturday 29 November**

When Oliver stood in front of Felicity’s dorm room to pick her up, he suddenly felt nervous. He’d texted Felicity earlier to tell her he was going to pick her up, so she wouldn’t have to wander around to find his room. And now he was nervous.

Oliver had showered, cleaned his room – stuffing all of Dean’s stuff in his wardrobe – and had even dressed up. Sort of. He was wearing a newly washed and pressed light blue shirt and dark jeans. And he was still wishing for a breath mint.

What the hell was wrong with him? He’d basically been in constant contact with Felicity ever since he’d left the Academy, and even before then, not a day would go by that he hadn’t talked to her. So why was he feeling this way? It was just a movie night for crying out loud!

Sighing, he resolved to – finally – knock on the door. But he glanced at his watch first. He was two minutes early. What if she thought he was too eager? What if-?

He wasn’t able to finish that train of thought because the door suddenly opened. “I could practically hear you thinking from the other side of the door,” Felicity said with a grin. Then, she seemed to change her mind. “Not that I was listening at the door! Or just sitting here waiting for you, I mean, yes, I’m ready to go, but I didn’t mean that I was just pining. Not that I would pine!” she quickly assured him. “I don’t generally pine, or at all really, and definitely not for you. Not that you’re not pine-worthy, I just mean.” Felicity closed her eyes and took a deep breath, counting down from three under her breath. “You know, you’re free to stop me from babbling. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that you’re invited to do so.”

Oliver just grinned. “But I like your babble. It’s cute.” Felicity blushed, and Oliver mentally hit himself over the head, he didn’t mean to come over that strong. He didn’t want Felicity to think he was flirting with her. Not that he would be completely averse to that, but… This was _Felicity_ , she was unlike any other girl he’d ever met, and he had no clue how to talk to her most of the time. He just felt like such an idiot when he talked to her.

Felicity seemed to realise they’d been staring at each other for a little too long, and abruptly turned around and walked back into her room, leaving the door open. “I just need to grab my jacket,” she said distractedly, going from one end of the room to the other, presumably to look for said jacket.

Oliver looked down and realized that a jacket wasn’t all she was missing. “Uhm, Felicity?” he said, trying to suppress a grin.

“It’s around here somewhere, I swear,” she muttered, looking under the covers of her bed. “Ahah! There it is!” she said triumphantly, fishing the missing item out from under her pillow. She was messier than he’d expected.

“Felicity, I think you’re still missing something,” Oliver said, biting his lips to keep from laughing out loud. She finally stopped and threw him a confused look. Oliver just pointed down.

“Crap! My shoes!” Felicity swore, while blushing furiously. “I’m sorry, I’m such a mess! I swear I was actually ready, but then I still had half an hour, so I got my book to finish this chapter I’m on. It’s really exciting, the hero is about to walk into a trap set up by his sister, who’s actually evil, but he doesn’t know that, and-” she rambled.

“Felicity,” Oliver interrupted with a grin. She really was adorable.

“Right, sorry. My point is, I got distracted. Sorry.” She quickly grabbed a pair of flats – were those pandas? – and motioned him out the door. After she’d locked the door, she turned to him with a grin. “So what’s this movie about again?”

“Well, it has Vin Diesel, so there’s probably going to be a fair amount of action in it, and there’s lots of racing, that’s about all I know,” Oliver explained as they left her building.

“Seriously? Well, it sounds exciting,” she offered hopefully.

Oliver grinned. If the movie sucked, he still had a few back-ups, but he was really hoping she was going to like this one. “I heard they’re making it into a trilogy of sorts.”

Felicity just grinned and pulled her coat tighter around herself. Even in the south of Nevada, winter was definitely settling in. She’d have to get her pea coat out of her closet soon.

“So what do you usually do for fun? Aside from cramming maths into idiot billionaires’ heads and watching the Lord of the Rings, that is?” Oliver asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

Felicity couldn’t help laughing. “Okay, first of all, you’re not an idiot, and second, I watch a lot more movies than just the Lord of the Rings.” She smiled at him. He smiled at her. She blushed and looked away. “I also like video games, and I’m pretty much addicted to coffee. I love computers; writing code, creating new programs, taking them apart and putting them back together again… Most of my friends have gotten used to my technobabble by now.”

“You really are a genius, aren’t you?” he asked. He loved it when she talked so openly to him, that she trusted him with everything.

She blushed again. “I guess.”

“You said you were planning to enrol at MIT after you graduate, right?” he asked.

They kept talking like that all the way to his room. It was comfortable, and she made him laugh a few times. Usually he’d try to be funny, but with Felicity he didn’t feel any pressure. It was easy to be himself around her. It wasn’t even that she didn’t have expectations of him, it was that whatever she wanted him to do, he wanted to do for her. He wanted to act like a gentleman and be nice, and genuinely listen to what she had to say. And for some reason, it didn’t cost him the effort it normally did.

For her part, she seemed comfortable enough, telling him about her friends and her mom, and all the family she’d acquired while her mom worked at the casino. She even told him that she’d wanted a pet iguana for ages, but couldn’t afford it, and that her mom didn’t like reptiles.

She was just amazing, and Oliver still didn’t know what he’d done to deserve a friend like her.

When they arrived at his room, he invited her to get settled on the couch while he got the snacks out. The movie was already paused at the main menu screen on the TV. As he put the chips and drinks on the table, though, he suddenly felt nervous. Should he sit on the far end of the couch? The middle? Should he sit close to her or far?

Felicity solved that little problem when she patted the couch right next to her. She was smiling in a perfectly innocent way, but that didn’t stop Oliver’s mouth from going dry. She’d already kicked off her panda flats and had curled her feet under her, causing her bright pink shirt to ride up over her hips.

He was doomed.

/*/

**Felicity POV**

Throughout the movie, Felicity was acutely aware that Oliver kept glancing at her. It would have been more annoying if she hadn’t been doing the same to him.

Seeing him again after a week of only talking on the phone… It did something to her she hadn’t expected her to. She’d been contemplating her feelings for him a lot lately, but when she’d opened her door to see him standing there… her heart had skipped a beat, before speeding up every time he came within three feet of her. She was going to end up in a hospital with heart palpitations if this kept up.

She’d almost forgotten how handsome he was, and how patient and kind he was to her. Which, if she thought about, was a little strange, because everyone else seemed to think that he was incapable of that.

The movie was reaching its climax, as Paul Walker’s character helped Vin Diesel’s crew get away from an irate truck driver. Seriously, what kind of person gets into a shooting match while driving a truck that’s being robbed?

Oliver was sitting fairly close, and, somehow, she’d ended up with one of her feet in his lap. His arm was flung across the back of the couch and she’d felt him playing with her hair. She wasn’t entirely sure he was doing it consciously, and it felt kind of nice, so she didn’t want him to stop.

Felicity gasped as Paul Walker almost got shot. Oliver raised an eyebrow at her. “You realize that this is just a movie, right?” he asked, amused.

She glared at him. “I just don’t want him to get shot! He still needs to get together with Mia, and Dom needs to forgive him so they can all get along.”

Oliver actually laughed out loud at that. “So, you’re hoping for a storybook ending? I’m sorry _princess_ , but I just don’t think that’s going to happen,” he teased. She glared more fiercely. He held up his free hand and shrugged. “What? I just heard that the next movie probably isn’t going to feature Vin-”

He was interrupted again when Felicity gasped. “Shut up, we’re going to miss the ending!” she scolded mildly and focussed back on the screen. Some people just couldn’t appreciate good suspense.

They watched the rest of the movie in silence – tense silence in Felicity’s case. As the credits rolled across the huge screen to some hip-hoppy song, they stayed where were, too comfortable to move. Felicity was once again acutely aware that Oliver was staring at her, while she kept her gaze on the TV.

“So, did you like the movie?” he asked when the main menu was shown again.

“I liked it, but I was missing some kind of larger plot. What are they going to do to link this movie to the next two? Especially if Vin Diesel isn’t even going to be in the next movie!”

Oliver chuckled. “I’m sure they’ll figure it out.” He was still playing with her hair and it was distracting Felicity. A lot. She struggled to keep her hands in her lap.

“Well, maybe we should go, the next one’s coming out next year, right?”

Oliver threw her a weird look that she couldn’t quite decipher. “You realize that next year, you’ll be here and I’ll most likely be in Starling, right?” he asked, a little warily. Felicity was just glad that he hadn’t suggested that they might not be friends anymore by then.

She waved it away. “Details. I’ll actually most likely be in Vegas or Gotham, depending on whether Katie’s invitation will be a standing one or not.”

“You’re going to Gotham?” Oliver asked with a frown.

Getting excited all over again, Felicity nodded. “Yeah, Katie invited me over. Do you think I’ll get to see Bruce Wayne? He holds an annual Christmas party that Katie’s parents are invited to. He’d come to his own party, right? I mean, he just dropped out of college, where else would he be?” she rambled.

Oliver tightened his hold on her ankle – when had he put his hand on her ankle? – and frowned a little deeper. “I guess, yeah. I didn’t realize you kept up with celebrity gossip like that?”

Having the decency to blush, Felicity rushed to explain. “Oh, no, not usually, but… well, being friends with billionaires makes you kind of curious, you know? I read up on you too, mister I-got-busted-for-underage-drinking. Three times.” She smirked.

“I had no idea you were so invested in my life, Ms Smoak,” he teased.

“Well, when picking billionaire best friends, once needs to do ones research,” she quipped right back.

“Oh, really?”

“Of course! How else would I know which of you is malleable enough for me to manipulate out of a few millions?”

Oliver couldn’t help but laugh. The expression made his whole face lit up, and it made Felicity wonder how anyone could say anything mean about him. He was the nicest guy she knew.

Then again, the butterflies might be clouding her judgement.

Okay, fine, even if she’d never admit it out loud – not even when threatened with torture or having her Doctor Who collection taken away – she could admit it in the privacy of her slightly cluttered brain. Yes, she had a crush on Oliver Queen. But it was no big deal! In fact, she was sure if would go away on its own.

If only Oliver would stop playing with her hair and rubbing soothing circles on her ankle…

/*/

**Oliver POV**

They spent the next hour or so talking until Felicity’s eyes started to droop. He offered to walk her back to her room, but she insisted that she wasn’t tired. Oliver humored her.

She fell asleep fairly quickly, and Oliver didn’t bother to move. She’d shifted so that both of her feet now lay in his lap, and she was curled onto the arm rest. He’d had to stop playing with her hair at that point. Truthfully, Oliver hadn’t even been aware that he’d been doing it, until he couldn’t reach her anymore. He’d rested his hand on her exposed elbow instead.

This was dangerous, he knew. Felicity was his best friend, the only person he felt he could trust with anything. But he couldn’t thrust his failure of a life on her, he wouldn’t. Dealing with paparazzi, judgmental people, people who wanted things from you, fake people… those were his problems, and he refused to make them hers, too. Felicity was so… pure, and an honestly good person, with no ulterior motives whatsoever, and that was rare. And Oliver didn’t want to corrupt her.

She was too good for him.

He was about to slip out from under her so he could wake her up properly, when he was interrupted by a voice.

“And here I thought you were just watching a movie,” Katie drawled from the doorway, flanked by Letty.

Oliver jumped, effectively waking up Felicity, too. They hadn’t been in that much of a compromising position, had they? He’d been rubbing circles on her bare ankle with his left hand, while his right was on the back of the couch, the very tips of his fingers lightly brushing Felicity’s exposed elbow. It was comfortable, but not something friends wouldn’t have been able to do without it meaning more.

Katie smirked. “Yeah, I saw you making googly eyes at her, Queen,” she whispered, as Felicity rubbed her eyes and looked around the room blearily. He really hoped she hadn’t heard that.

And he had _not_ been making googly eyes!

“Katie?” she asked, sleep still evident in her voice. “What are you doing here?” Wait, how long had they just been laying there? Oliver didn’t think it had been very long, but if Felicity sounded so drowsy, she must’ve had time to slip into a deeper sleep.

Letty answered in her stead. “I came to get you, of course, the note you left said that – for some harebrained reason I can’t even begin to fathom – you’d decided on a movie night at Queen’s and you ‘d be back by eleven.”

Felicity just stared incomprehensively. “It’s nearly one in the morning and you weren’t picking up your phone,” Letty deadpanned.

“I hadn’t even realized, I was with Cody, but then I came home and you weren’t there… I went to ask Letty and that’s when we found the note,” Katie explained.

Oliver frowned. “How did you even get in here?”

“The door was open, you should really learn to lock it, Queen,” Letty said.

“Most people knock,” he said, looking at her flatly.

“We did knock, but I guess you were otherwise engaged, weren’t you?” she asked, smirking broadly.

Oliver grumbled, but he knew Letty well enough by now to know that she was just teasing him, and getting a kick out of his reaction. Felicity, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have followed the conversation. “I must’ve fallen asleep. I’m sorry, Oliver, I didn’t mean to, but Letty and I stayed up pretty late last night,” she said.

“It’s okay,” he said, getting up from the couch as she slipped back into her flats. “Want me to walk you home?” he asked quietly, holding out her jacket.

“I think Katie and Letty will be company enough,” she replied with a grin and a faint blush.

“Oh. Right, yes. Okay.”

Letty rolled her eyes at him. “You’re such a cliché, Queen.” She grabbed Felicity’s hand and led her out.

“You really should lock your door,” Katie said over her shoulder as she followed her friends out.

Oliver dropped heavily down on the couch. “Well, that could have ended better…”


	15. Chapter 15

** Chapter 15: **

**Felicity POV ~ Sunday 30 November ~ 1 am**

“So, what’s the deal, I thought you two were just friends?” Katie asked as soon as they left Oliver’s hallway.

Felicity rolled her eyes. She was exhausted, had a headache, and really didn’t want to deal with the fourth degree right now. “We are, we just watched a movie and talked. I couldn’t have been asleep for more than ten minutes,” she replied anyway. If she ignored them, they’d just keep harassing her.

“Yeah, that’s what it looked like,” Letty said sarcastically. “Why can’t you just admit that you have a crush on the guy? It’s not like you’re the only one.” Felicity frowned at her friend. For some reason, she thought that concern for her was not the only thing inspiring her bitter tone, but she decided not to push it.

“I don’t like Oliver that way,” she insisted. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t want to risk our friendship. What would he see in me anyway?”

Katie wrapped an arm around her friend. “Hey, any guy would be lucky to have you!”

“And besides,” Letty interrupted. “Not wanting to risk your friendship is such a cliché excuse.” She rolled her eyes. Felicity made a mental note to ask her what was going on that made her so snippy. Not that she’d use the word ‘snippy’, because let’s face it, Letty was more likely to start harping on about Felicity’s choice of words than to focus on the conversation at hand.

“Look, can we just drop it? Oliver has a girlfriend. Actually, I’m fairly sure he has two, he never broke up with Mallory. Even _if_ I had feelings for Oliver – which I don’t! – I wouldn’t just jump into a relationship with someone who’s going to cheat on me,” she assured her friends. But if she was honest with herself, it hurt. She wanted to believe that Oliver would never do that to her, but she’d seen firsthand how charming he could be to your face only to cheat behind your back.

Letty seemed mollified. “Okay, works for me.”

Katie still looked a little worried, but didn’t press her. “So does this mean I can set you up with Cody’s best friend?” she asked, breaking the tension.

Felicity laughed, and Letty rolled her eyes. “A blind date, really?”

Katie shrugged. “It’s not _really_ a blind date, Cody and I will be there.”

Felicity sighed. She couldn’t keep up this whole yes-no-maybe thing with Oliver. Regardless if she had feelings for him, it was time to move on. “Okay, sure, how bad can it be?”

/*/

**Oliver POV ~ Sunday 30 November ~ evening**

By the end of the day, Oliver was kind of sick of Dean. The other boy had come home early that day, and had proceeded to talk Oliver’s ear off about his week. And not in the you’re-my-friend-and-I’m-excited-to-tell-you-about-it way, but rather in the I-met-really-hot-chicks-and-I’m-so-fantastic kind of way. Needless to say, Oliver tired of it rather soon.

He’d gone for a walk and ended up in front of Felicity’s building. Without thinking, he went up to her room and knocked.

Katie opened the door. “Oliver? What are you doing here?” she asked, surprised. She looked like she was in the middle of getting ready for a date.

“Hey Katie, is Felicity here?”

Katie just raised an eyebrow and stepped back, leaving the door open a crack. “Lis, it’s for you!” she shouted.

A few seconds later, Felicity appeared in the doorway. Half her hair was pinned up, while the rest was curled elegantly. She was barefoot, but was wearing nice black jeans and an embroidered top. She looked like she was getting ready for something too. “Oliver, what are you doing here?” she asked, echoing Katie’s earlier words.

Suddenly, Oliver wasn’t sure what to say anymore. “Uhm…” he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I just… Dean was being an idiot and I needed to get out. I remembered you liked coffee.”

Felicity seemed confused. “I do.”

Oliver could feel blood rushing to his cheeks. “Right, so I thought maybe you’d want to get a coffee together?”

Felicity’s face fell, and with it, Oliver’s hopes of a nice evening. “Oliver, I’m sorry, I can’t. I’m…” she trailed off.

Katie appeared at Felicity’s shoulder. “Come on, Lissa, the boys are going to be here soon!”

Oliver looked back at Felicity. “You’re going out?” Katie threw him a smug look and ducked back into the room, leaving a flustered Felicity to explain.

“It’s a blind date. And a double date. It’s nothing, really,” she tried to assure him. Oliver felt an ache in his jaw, and realized that he’d been clenching it. What if this guy was a total douche? Or a pervert? Or worse…? “Seriously, though, I have to finish getting ready.”

“Where are you guys going?” Oliver asked. Maybe if he just hung out close by, just to make sure she was alright…?

“Oh, nothing fancy, just the food court,” she replied with a grin. “I really have to go now, Oliver. I’ll see you after class tomorrow.” And with that, she shut the door.

The food court. Really, it looked more like a small European shopping street, with lots of little restaurants and cafes, but officially, it was called ‘the food court’. A lot of people called it ‘Paris lane’ or just ‘the lane’. It was cozy, expensive and had a huge amount of choices ranging from fast food to haute cuisine. In other words, exactly what millionaire kids would want.

It was also a good place to follow Felicity on her double date. There were always a lot of people milling about, and the street wasn’t very big to start with, it was perfect. They would never notice him in the crowds…

/*/

As it turned out, following two girls and two guys without looking suspicious wasn’t as easy as Oliver had thought. Mainly because he was Oliver Queen, and people kept wanting to talk to him. He was tempted to call Mallory and show up, pretending it was a coincidence, but he figured both Felicity and Katie would see right through that.

The group of four had settled at the window booth of a little Italian restaurant, and Oliver had picked a spot at the café across the street. He recognized Cody, of course, but the guy Felicity was with must not move in the same circles as him. He was short. Well, shorter than Oliver. He was still taller than both the girls, though. Still, Oliver didn’t like the way he looked. He wasn’t even that handsome, Oliver was… well, that was beside the point. He didn’t deserve Felicity, that was for sure!

Oliver clenched his jaw when he saw the guy put his hand on Felicity’s shoulder. She was smiling, but it was her polite smile, not her amused or her happy smile. Katie seemed to be paying more attention to what Cody was saying than to her friend.

Oliver’s view was suddenly blocked. “Dude, I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Dean stood over Oliver’s table, frowning down at his friend. Oliver just barely managed to keep a sigh in. “I just needed some air,” he said, trying not to sound too aggravated.

Dean looked uncomfortable. “Yeah, about that… Look, I acted like a jerk, sorry. We good?” he asked.

Looking at his roommate, Oliver couldn’t help but compare him with Tommy. They were both partygoers, and they were both players. But Tommy had an earnestness and loyalty about him that Dean could never match. Still, arguing with the person he shared a room with was not a good idea, so he just smiled his charming playboy smile and nodded. “Sure.”

Dean grinned, relieved, and sat down. “So why here anyway?”

“What?” Oliver asked, completely confused. He’d been trying to look around Dean to the restaurant across the street, but either they’d moved or he was at a bad angle now.

“Why this place? I mean, it’s okay, I guess, but not really your usual scene, is it?”

Oliver looked over his shoulder at the little café. He hadn’t really been paying attention when he’d sat down. It was a western-looking grill and barbeque, and Oliver didn’t like barbeque. “Uh, the sweet tea?” he asked, more than stated.

“Huh,” Dean said, shrugged, and motioned a bored waitress to come over. “I’ll have a sweet tea. Oh, and one of those barbeque sandwiches!”

Fighting not to pull up his nose, Oliver scooted his chair to the side a little in order to get a better view. “Crap,” he swore under his breath. They were gone!

Dean raised his eyebrow at him. “What?” He followed Oliver’s line of sight. “You hate Italian too? No one hates Italian!”

Oliver shook his head. “No, I just… remembered I forgot something. I have to go.” He jumped up from his chair and started racing down the street, though he had no clue which way they’d gone. They could have gone down to the lake at the end of the street, or maybe headed to the ice cream parlor a little further…

He looked for a few minutes longer, but they were gone. Oliver swore. He wasn’t even sure why he was so angry, but he felt like hitting something. Sighing, he realized that he didn’t really have any other choice but to return to his room.

It wasn’t even like Felicity was in danger, she was with friends. Even if that guy turned out to be a complete ass, Katie wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and Cody was a decent guy… Then why did he feel like he should be there to glare that guy down? He was interrupted by his phone ringing. Fishing it out of his pocket, he glanced down at the screen.

“What is it, Tommy?”

“That hurts man, so little love for your best friend. I’m shocked. Shocked I tell you.”

Oliver rolled his eyes, he really wasn’t in the mood for Tommy’s games right now. “What do you want, Tommy?” he asked again.

“Seriously, dude, what’s wrong? Argument with Laurel? Or that other blonde chick you’re dating. Or, oooh, is it that nerdy girl who’s been tutoring you?”

“Shut the fuck up, Tommy!” Oliver shouted. A few passersby stared, but he couldn’t care less. “Don’t you dare talk about her,” he ground out. “She isn’t like that!”

“Hey, I was just joking. I’m sorry,” Tommy said.

And just like that, all the anger drained out of Oliver. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.”

“It’s alright.” Tommy hesitated. “But… if there’s anything you want to talk about…” There was that earnestness that Oliver so admired in his best friend.

“Nah, it’s just… I saw something I didn’t really want to see, and it bugged me more than I thought it would.”

“I told you not to watch those horror movies,” Tommy joked. They both knew that horrors were Oliver’s favorite.

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.” He’d made it back to his building by now and took the elevator up to his floor. “Look, I’ve got to go, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure, it can wait until then. Night, man.”

“Night.”

As Oliver shoved his phone back into his pocket and searched for his keys, he finally noticed something out of place in his hallway. On the floor in front of his door, a girl was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on her arms.

As he stepped closer, he finally recognized her. “Felicity?”

“Oliver. I’m sorry, I thought you’d be home.”

“I just went to get some food,” he lied, holding out a hand to help her stand. “How long have you been waiting here?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, a few minutes?”

As he opened the door to his room, he nodded. “I thought you were out on a date,” he asked. He was fairly sure she hadn’t noticed the slight edge to his voice.

She nodded and followed him in. “Yeah. He was kind of an idiot, so I left Katie and Cody to their date and left. I sort of just ended up here.”

He turned around to look at her properly, then. He’d been sneaking glances all night, but he’d had to make sure she didn’t see him. Now, though… She looked gorgeous in her dark jeans and green embroidered top, she had draped her coat over the back of his desk chair and focused her attention on his bookcase, even though he hadn’t read any of the books in it. It gave him the perfect opportunity to study her, though.

Her hair was down in loose curls, as opposed to its usual ponytail, and Oliver found he kind of liked it like that. Her glasses were firmly in place, though, and he was grateful for that, it made her look more like herself, in a weird way.

“Where’s Dean?” she asked, not looking up from the shelf.

“What? Oh, uhm… still out, he went to get… barbeque.” _Real smooth, Oliver,_ he thought to himself. “Uhm, what happened on the date?”

Felicity turned to him. “Nothing much. He was just one of those people who only got into this school because of their parents’s influence, and not their intellect.” Her eyes widened. “Not that I’m saying you’re the same! Well, you’re a little bit, because you did get in because of your parents’s money, which I suppose makes it a little the same. But it’s not!” she hastily added. “Because you do have brains – I mean, of course you have brains, Ted probably does too, but I meant in the metaphorical sense, I just meant that you’re not as dumb as he is. No! You’re not dumb, you’re actually really smart when you’re trying, which is really the only problem you have. And wow, I just switched topics to your tutoring… I’ve told you this before, feel free to stop me!” She glared weakly at him.

Oliver just grinned. “And miss you complementing me, no way! You said I’m smart.”

By this point, Felicity was blushing a delicious red, and Oliver was having far too much fun bringing that color to her cheeks. “You _are_ smart, you just never bother to try.”

Turning serious, Oliver eyes her. “You really think so?” ‘Smart’ was a word rarely used to describe Oliver Queen, and he was well aware of it.

Felicity took a step closer. “Of course, I’ve seen it.” It was Oliver’s turn to blush now. And then she seemed to realize how close they were standing and stepped back. “I, uh… I should go.”

Oliver tried not to be too disappointed… and failed miserably. “Oh, right. Okay. Do you, uh… want me to walk you to your dorm?” he asked hesitantly. On one hand he hoped she’d say yes, so he could keep talking to her, but on the other hand, he wished she would go so he’d be alone with his thoughts.

“Uh, no, it’s okay. I was going to see if Katie and Cody were still out and if they wanted to come watch a movie or something.”

“Right, yeah, of course.” Another pang of disappointment went through him. “Uhm, I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

She smiled, and suddenly, Oliver felt okay again. “Tomorrow,” she agreed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 300 Kudos? You guys are awesome!!  
> On a side-note, if you're missing fluff in this, go check out my new one-shot 'No'

**Chapter 16**

**Oliver's POV ~ Monday 16 December**

Weeks passed, and Oliver and Felicity settled into their respective routines again. Except they had now added movie night every Friday. Felicity had become convinced that Oliver's movie-education was sorely lacking, and strove to right that terrible wrong. Of course, Oliver wasn't going to take that laying down, and so they'd agreed that Oliver could pick the movie every other week.

He was walking her to her room after a tutoring session had run late. They'd stopped by the Lane to get ice cream, because according to Felicity, "it's never too cold to eat ice cream."

"It is, too," he replied, but licked the vanilla that had dripped onto his fingers anyway.

Felicity frowned. "It is not. You see, the ice cream is cold, so when you eat it, the outside temperature isn't that cold anymore, get it?" she asked, a light dancing in her eyes.

Oliver snorted. "That's twisted logic and you know it."

Felicity stuck out her tongue and proceeded to finish her ice cream. She'd only gotten one scoop – mocha, of course – while Oliver had been a little more greedy and gotten two. She grinned at him, and was about to say something else when her phone went off.

"It's a text from Katie," she said, looking intently down. She rolled her eyes. "She skipped dinner again, she's asking me to pick up something from the Lane." Looking up with an apologetic expression, she showed him the text.

Habitually, Oliver looked at it, even though Felicity had already told him what it said, but she must have pressed a button, because it just showed him her background.

Her background that was a picture of the two of them.

Katie or Cody must have taken it on one of the few occasions that they had met up together. Oliver didn't exactly remember when the picture had been taken, but he was laughing, and Felicity was leaning her head against his shoulder, her face turned away from the camera, and blushing furiously.

He was about to ask about it when a guy on a skateboard whizzed by, not even bothering to avoid Felicity and Oliver. Oliver jumped back, but Felicity hadn't been paying attention, so the guy clipped her arm. She gasped and stumbled back, hitting the ground. She was fine, but her cell phone wasn't so lucky. Oliver watched as the piece of technology went flying through the air and hit each and every one of the stairs they had been standing next to.

Felicity just looked at it open-mouthed. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" She scrambled up and ran down the stairs. It was littered with little bits and pieces of her phone. "I'd only just bought that phone…" she whispered, cradling a shard of the cracked display.

Oliver looked around, a little helplessly. He was angry at the kid for not watching where he was going, but he wasn't really sure what to do about Felicity. He knew how hard it was for her to get that much money together, but in his world, breaking expensive machinery was a minor inconvenience, if that. He picked up a piece of the motherboard, all torn up and scratched. It was blue, as opposed to the usual green, and the little silver lines shone in the streetlights.

"It was brand new Nokia 7650, I can't afford another new phone!" Felicity said, getting up and walking over to Oliver.

He quickly pocketed the motherboard – though he wasn't sure why – and gave her an apologetic grimace. "I'm sorry, Felicity."

She shrugged, looking dejected. "Not your fault. That idiot of a kid should have looked out better…"

He gave her an awkward smile. "Uhm… Should we… gather everything?" he asked, looking around uncertainly. There were a whole lot of little bits laying around…

Felicity waved a hand. "Don't bother, it's unsalvageable anyway, I'll just tell the janitor's office about it."

Oliver looked at her. Her eyes were surprisingly bright. Was she…? "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, stepping closer.

Felicity sniffed once. "I'm fine. Stupid Michael Hawk."

"Wait, you knew that guy?" he asked, feeling the anger bubble to the surface again.

"Yeah, he's always going around on that damn skateboard of his. His uncle Tony gave it to him, apparently," she explained resentfully.

Oliver stood there awkwardly, he wasn't really sure what to say to her. He had a plan to cheer her up, though, but that would have to wait. "Uhm… How about we get that food. It's my treat."

Felicity smiled at him gratefully, blinking away the would-be tears. "Yeah. Thanks."

/*/

Having sent a text to Katie in advance, Oliver led Felicity back to her room, determined to cheer her up. They'd ended up getting pizza and buying a tub of Ben & Jerry's. According to Felicity, that was a necessity. Oliver just went with it.

They ended up watching TV while eating their pizza's, none of them really feeling like talking. Well, Felicity didn't feel like talking, Katie and Oliver didn't really know what to say.

Somehow, Dylan and Letty also found their way to the girls' room, and now they were all sprawled out across the couch and floor. Dylan, Katie and Letty had started dubbing the weird Korean show that they'd settled on, which was hilarious.

"I am not actually your cousin Larry," Dylan proclaimed in a dramatic voice. "I am your other cousin, Leonard!"

Letty's assigned character started crying on screen. "Oh no, how could you? I trusted you!" she said. The actress on screen kept talking for another minute.

Felicity laughed at her friends' antics, and Oliver couldn't help but focus on the sound. She had this way of laughing that made you feel lighter just by hearing it. He leaned closer. "Feeling better?" he asked quietly as Katie informed Dylan that she was his father.

Felicity smiled a little tiredly. "I'm okay, I was just upset. It took me months to save up for that phone…"

"At least Katie still had her old one," he said, trying to get her to focus on the positive side of things. Katie's old phone was a pink Motorola without a camera, and with a black and white display. He'd miss his phone too if this was its replacement.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied dejectedly, looking at the offending item. "I'd just saved up for so long, and I was so happy when I could finally afford one… I know it doesn't seem like a lot to you, but I grew up only turning on the lights when I had to because the electrical bill was too high. It's only been recently, since my mom got a pay raise and I got this scholarship, that we've been able to afford a little more."

Oliver felt a little uncomfortable. He thought about his family's mansion, with an entire wing for guests and staff, a separate dining room, two sitting rooms and offices and even a pool house. His parents' fortune had never before been a source of shame, but right now, Oliver didn't feel like it was the gift he usually regarded it as.

Felicity blushed and put a hand on his arm. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, it's just… that's the way I grew up."

"I know, it's okay," Oliver replied. On the floor in front of him, Katie howled with laughter as Letty proclaimed that she was not only Dylan's character's cousin, but also his evil half-sister twin, created by a sexually confused scientist. Dylan looked mildly disturbed.

As a new character was introduced in the show – or, at least, a character they hadn't seen before – Felicity leaned forward to join in the fun. "Hello mother!" she said to Katie.

Unable to answer because of lack of breath, Dylan took over. "Mother?! I am not your mother, child, you are my time-travelling grandfather, here to set things right!"

Oliver laughed. "When did this become a science-fiction show?" he asked.

"When Maudie admitted that she was created by a sexually confused scientist, of course. Don't you pay attention, Queen?" Katie finally managed.

"Maudie?" he asked, curious and more than a little amused.

"Come on, Oliver, they named them like twenty minutes ago," Felicity said, smiling broadly. "Oh, I want to be Guillermo!"

And so they kept going. Oliver was eventually cajoled into playing the new, extremely slutty girl on the show.

He'd never had that much fun.

Honestly, he thought Tommy would have fit in just fine with this bunch, he'd love a chance to act this silly. The thought made him smile, imagining his best friend with Felicity's group.

Yeah, he could live with that.

/*/

When he came home that night, the room was empty. Dean was probably off somewhere with his bimbo of the week. Or, you know, day. Oliver kicked off his shoes and lay down on his bed, putting an arm behind his head. He should probably go to sleep, but for some reason, he couldn't.

He kept thinking of the events of the day. Felicity's carefree argument about ice cream, her hurt face when her phone had broken into pieces… And then the fun night they had, trying to dub Korean soap operas. With a soft laugh, he remembered when Letty had stolen the last bite of ice cream and Felicity and Katie had chased her around the room.

Oliver looked down. Unconsciously, he had taken out the piece of motherboard that he'd picked up earlier. He still wasn't sure why he'd felt the need to take it with him, but there it was. It was really small in his hand, and a bright blue. He kept turning it over in his hand, watching how the light played across the surface.

What was he even going to do with it? It sort of matched Felicity's eyes…

He was interrupted by Dean's entrance. The other boy was smirking, half the buttons on his shirt missing and an obvious hickey on his neck. He frowned at Oliver. "Wow, looks like you had a boring night." Then he grinned again. "Unlike mine."

Oliver smiled at his friend. "And just where have you been?" he asked wryly.

" _I_  just got lucky. Give a girl a piece of jewellery and… well, you know better than anyone, right?"

Inwardly, Oliver grimaced. Sure, he'd used that trick a few times, but he preferred to just charm a girl, not buy her. "What did you give her?"

"A necklace," Dean replied, letting himself fall onto his bed. "Told her it was a family heirloom, and she totally fell for it."

Oliver frowned. He wasn't above lying, per se, but he thought that if you couldn't get a girl with your own charm, you weren't worth her time.

Dean was talking again, but Oliver ignored him. He'd just gotten an idea, and he didn't want to lose it. But how to…?

He looked at the motherboard again. It would be perfect!

/*/

**Felicity POV ~ that same night**

As Felicity brushed her hair, she watched Katie clean up some of the mess they'd made earlier. She couldn't help a grin when she saw the pillows strewn everywhere. When she and Katie had chased Letty, Oliver and Dylan had started throwing pillows at them.

They really were a weird bunch, but Felicity never had more fun than when she was with all of them. And Oliver… She wasn't entirely sure when they'd grown so comfortable around each other, but she loved the closeness they had. She was close to Dylan and Letty and Katie too, of course, but… it was different, this was  _Oliver_. The guy who had been all sullen 'Me Oliver, you nerd' the first time they'd met, and now they were…

A sigh escaped from her lips. She wanted to say best friends, she really did, but… Could she really compare Oliver to Katie? Aside from the fact that he was a guy, her relationship with him was completely different. She bit her lip. She'd known for a while that her feelings for Oliver had been growing, but…

God, why was this so difficult? She was only thinking to herself, after all. So why couldn't she just admit it?

 _I, Felicity Smoak… I…_ Another sigh.  _I'm in love with Oliver Queen._


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Missed me?
> 
> I fixed a HUGE mistake in this chapter, namely that Katie's parents are both guys, as stated in an earlier chapter.

** Chapter 17: **

**Felicity POV**

They were watching Friends reruns. Felicity haven't been in the mood to pick out a movie, so they’d just changed channels until they’d found something. They were in Felicity's room, which they had to themselves, seeing as Katie was – predictably – with Cody. At some point, Felicity had moved so that she was sitting shoulder–to–shoulder with Oliver, her head resting against him.

"Do you want to do something else?" Oliver asked suddenly.

Felicity lifted her head to look up at him. “Like what?" Oliver smiled mischievously, but didn't answer her question. Leaning back, Felicity narrowed her eyes. “Oliver?" Once again, the billionaire didn't answer, but when he leaned closer, Felicity knew something wasn't right. "Oliver, what are you –?"

But Oliver had already reached over and… started to tickle her. Felicity shrieked and reared back. "Oliver, no!" As quickly as she could, she got up and ran. And – naturally – Oliver gave chase. Knowing that he was a good head taller than her, faster, and well… more elegant, he caught up to her quickly.

Felicity tripped over a stray pair of shoes and would've face palmed onto her mattress if Oliver hadn't caught one of her arms. Of course, all that accomplished was that she landed on her back and that he lost his balance and came right along with her.

Felicity forgot how to breathe.

Well, she would have forgotten if it wasn't a natural process and thought of consciously. Then again, people could lose their breath, so… Okay, she was overthinking this. And she was blushing.

Badly.

Oliver was suspended over her, carefully putting his weight on his hands and knees, instead of on her. How could one person be so beautiful? Oh, Felicity knew it was strange to call a guy beautiful, but that was what he was to her. And it was more than just how handsome he was. Felicity was amazed every day by the person behind the mask, the person she loved. His icy blue eyes took her in, as if trying to memorize every inch. She was hyper aware of every bit of skin contact. His breath ghosting over her face, his knees slightly touching her size, his right hand – now free – trailing her cheekbones... Felicity expected it to be warm, to feel like lightning, or any of the other clichés, but... it felt cool, like a breeze. "Oliver," she whispered, almost too softly for him to hear.

And then his lips were on hers and her mind went blank. Who knew that the only way to make her hold her tongue – both inside and out – was for Oliver to kiss her?

The hand that had been tracing her face was now wound in her hair, and her own arms were hooked around his shoulders. Anything to get him closer. All of a sudden, Oliver rolled them over, so she was the one laying on top of him. He pulled back and looked into her eyes again, a smile playing around his lips. "Felicity Smoak... I-"

"Wake up, lazybones, you're drooling on the couch!"

Felicity flailed and fell off of the couch, luckily missing the small coffee table. "What?" she asked drowsily. Hadn't Oliver been there a moment ago? When had she fallen asleep? What had happe-

Yeah, she remembered now... She'd said goodbye to Oliver 4 days ago. She'd said goodbye to him at the airport, right before she and Katie had boarded the plane to Gotham. "What happened?" she asked groggily. "What time is it?"

Katie grinned at her. "It's almost noon. I didn't think the jetlag would be that bad for you," she said, though she was obviously not worried.

Grimacing, Felicity picked herself off the floor. "I've never flown to the east coast before, remember?"

The other girl just grinned as she practically skipped out of the media room – movie theatre would be a better name, or game room, as it also had two pinball machines, a pool table and a dart board. Grumbling to herself, Felicity followed her friend to the kitchen. Food would be good.

“So what are we having for lunch?” Felicity asked curiously as she hopped onto one of the barstools.

Katie was flipping through her phone when she answered. “I don’t know. There’s a good bakery that delivers. I’d ask Marcella, our cook, to fix us something, but she’s having a day off.”

Felicity guffawed. “Seriously? We can cook something ourselves, we don’t’ have to order in or have a cook prepare our meals every day.”

Katie looked a little lost. “But… I don’t…”

Now this was something Felicity could do. She wasn’t the best cook out there, but she’d been taking care of herself for almost 6 years now – since she was 9 – so she was decent enough. “It’s not that hard. We can make pasta,” she suggested, spying several jars of said Italian goodness on top of a cabinet. Katie didn’t seem convinced, but shrugged and went along with it. While Katie was busy looking through cabinets to find suitable pots and pans, Felicity had a moment to reflect on her dream.

There was no denying it now: Felicity Smoak had a crush on Oliver Queen. And he could never, ever, ever find out.

/*/

“I have to say, Felicity, I didn’t think you’d be teaching my daughter to cook. This is wonderful.”

Felicity blushed. “Thank you, Mr. McMillian,but it’s just a simple meal. It was nothing, really –”

“Nonsense, just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it can’t taste just as good as a two-star restaurant. And we told you to call us Peter and Jack,” Katie’s other dad interrupted.

Grinning, Katie elbowed her. “Careful, Lissa, before you know it they’ll be asking your mom permission to adopt you.” If it had been possible, Felicity’s blush would have deepened.

“Stop it, Katherine, you’re embarrassing the girl,” Mr. - _Peter_ chided mildly, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

Katie rolled her eyes. “Da-ad! Daddy’s the one who’s embarrassing her, not me!” she protested, sounding for all the world like a petulant 5-year-old.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” Jack conceded, and changed the subject. “Are you girls ready for the gala tonight?” he asked, smiling kindly at Felicity over his glasses.

Felicity adjusted her own spectacles, and glanced at Katie before answering. “Sort of, we just need to–”

“Oh, no, we are not!” Katie interrupted. “I told you, you are not wearing that old dress. It’s lovely, but you’ve already worn it twice for FCA parties, and there will be people from school there!” Felicity rolled her eyes. It wasn’t the first time they’d had this argument. She knew Katie meant well, so she didn’t hold it against her friend, but it was a little insulting. “You can borrow one of mine!” Katie suggested enthusiastically, unaware of Felicity’s train of thought.

“I can’t, we’re not the same size!” Felicity tried to protest.

“Oh, please, you’re like a supermodel. Now stop complaining, and do as I say. You’re going to look fabulous!”

Katie’s dads exchanged amused glances, probably used to their daughter’s antics. “Do you girls want to be excu–” Jack started to say.

“Yes, thank you daddy!” Katie exclaimed, grabbed Felicity’s hand and dashed out of the room.

/*/

After Katie had convinced Felicity to change her mind about the dress, and proceeded to do her hair and make-up, Felicity was kind of glad that she’d listened to her friend. She was currently wearing a deep forest green, floor-length gown, tied at the waist by gold tread. It was a one-shoulder, which Felicity hadn’t been certain about when she’d first seen it, but it looked good. The mid-tigh slit up the side still made her a little uncomfortable, but she figured she’d just keep Katie on her left, and no one would notice. Her hair was down in loose curls, also threaded with gold. “Oh my god,” Felicity whispered, her hand coming up to touch a stray curl.

“You look gorgeous, if I do say so myself,” Katie said smugly. “And I have to say, it’s totally unfair how that dress looks better on you than it does on me.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. Katie could wear a garbage bad and still be the belle of the ball, but… she had to admit to herself, she looked amazing.

Katie came to stand beside her and gave herself a once-over. She was wearing a deep blue dress that contrasted against her pale skin, and accentuated her dark brown waves. She’d opted for a half up ‘do. Felicity wrung her hands, she wished she could wear her glasses so she could fiddle with them, but Katie had made her wear contacts.

“Guys will be fighting over us, mark my words,” Katie said, linking her arms with Felicity’s.

Felicity laughed. “I don’t need guys to fight over me, Katie.”

“That’s just because you already have a guy to drool over,” she dismissed with a wave of her hand.

“You have a boyf- Wait, what? What guy?” Felicity asked, her heart speeding up.

Katie turned to look at her, shooting her a strange look. “You know who I’m talking about. Let me give you a hint, you’ve been in love with him for months.”

Felicity felt heat creep up her cheeks. “What? No, I – I don’t! I’m not – why would you…?”

“Relax, Lissa, you’re my best friend, I can totally tell when you have a crush. Personally, I think you can do better, but I guess he’s proven there’s more to him than the ‘playboy’.”

Looking anywhere but at her friend, Felicity sighed in resignation. “That’s not who he is,” she said, quietly, almost to herself.

“What?” Katie asked.

“I said, that’s not who he is,” she replied, louder this time. “He puts up this front and convinces everyone that that’s who he truly is, but it’s not. He’s kind and sensitive and funny, and he’s a lot smarter than he lets on. And he’s a good person, even if he can’t see it himself.”

Katie just looked at her for a minute, a strange look in her eyes. “I thought it was just a crush, but… you really love him, don’t you?” she asked quietly.

Felicity bit her lip, but didn’t answer. It was one thing to admit it in the privacy of her own mind, but admitting it out loud to her best friend? That would make it real, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that.

Luckily, Katie seemed to read her mind and changed the subject. “Are you excited? I’m excited.”

Felicity looked up, gratefully. “Haven’t you been to galas like this a million times?” she asked curiously.

Katie turned back to the mirror, leaning in to check her make-up. “Nope. There’s an actual age restriction. This is the first year I’m allowed to go. I hope Bruce shows up, he’s pretty notorious for living by his own rules.” She smirked at her in the mirror. “Sort of like Oliver, actually.”

Felicity flushed again, and turned around so that her friend wouldn’t see it. “Come on, I bet your parents are waiting for us.” And, with that, she walked out of the room and went down the stairs.

Katie was right behind her, having grabbed their shawls and purses. Felicity knew she’d forgotten something. The shawls were fur, and Felicity honestly didn’t want to know if they were real or not. She wasn’t going to complain in this cold weather.

“Oh, Felicity, you look wonderful,” Mr. – _Peter_ said as she entered the entrance hall.

Felicity blushed at the compliment, smoothing down the dress nervously. “Thank you, Mr. – Peter.” The man smiled warmly at her.

“I keep telling her that, but she won’t believe me,” Katie said, elegantly descending the stairs. Seriously, how did she do that?

“Then maybe you should stop pestering her about it,” Jack said as he walked in, trailed by a servant carrying his suit jacket.

Katie rolled her eyes, and offered Felicity her wrap and purse. “We should get going, we’re already fashionably late,” she told her parents.

Peter, also shrugging into his jacket, was already heading for the door. “Well then, maybe you should hurry, the limousine is waiting.”

Felicity turned to Katie. “Limousine?” she mouthed, excited. This was going to be so much fun!

****

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gala happens, and Felicity gets an unexpected surprise...

** Chapter 18: **

**Felicity POV ~ Tuesday 23 December**

The gala was nothing like Felicity had expected. Granted, she’d been picturing the ballroom from Cinderella, complete with orchestra and women in ball gowns everywhere, but still. She hadn’t expected the informational banners everywhere, and the relatively normal setup. It looked more like a business function than a Christmas party. She hadn’t know that it was a fundraiser for a local orphanage either, or that Wayne Enterprises organized an event like this every year.

She also hadn’t expected the absolute jerks she’d meet there. Sure, she knew some people from school, and they were all cordial enough, as were most people who greeted her while she was with the McMillans. The minute Katie had left her alone for a second, though, they showed their true colors.

One guy had actually suggested that because he had money, she should want to sleep with him! Felicity had then proceeded to tell the thirty-something old guy that she was only 15 and that she knew the law well enough to sue him herself. He’d left her alone after that, but only after shooting her a dirty look.

Okay, so maybe she was exaggerating a little. Most people were actually polite. A few of them lost interest in her when they found out she wasn’t well connected or rich, but at least they were nice about it. People like pedo-guy were only a minority.

Still, Felicity desperately needed some air after being in the same room with so many egos. She excused herself to Katie – whom she had found again among a group of equally beautiful and well-endowed girls – and headed for the patio, despite the cold weather.

She wrapped her shawl tighter around herself and stepped out the doors, only to smack straight into a tuxedoed wall. A hand shot out to steady her, and Felicity had a chance to catch her breath. “Thanks,” she started to say, only to look up into the face of a vaguely familiar figure.

He grinned down at her. “Are you alright?” he asked, and suddenly it clicked.

“Holy crap, you’re Bruce Wayne. And I just said holy crap to Bruce Wayne. And I keep saying Bruce Wayne, I should stop saying Bruce Wayne. Feel free to stop me any second now,” she said in one long breath, blushing like a madwoman. What? She couldn’t very well call herself a mad _man_ , right?

He laughed, loudly and unexpectedly, like he was surprised at his own reaction. It wasn’t the kind of laugh she’d expect from Bruce Wayne. Or anyone, really, people tended to look at her strangely whenever she babbled. Except Oliver maybe, he was usually just amused.

Felicity had half a mind to run back inside and disappear into the crowd and never be seen by Bruce Wayne again, but before she could enact that plan, Bruce Wayne had stopped laughing and was looking at her curiously. “You’re not like most people here, are you?”

Felicity was fairly sure she was as red as a tomato by now, but she managed to answer anyway. “I guess not?” she asked more than said.

Bruce Wayne opened his mouth to answer, but his attention was drawn to something over her shoulder. His grin widened and he stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking if possible, even more perfect.

“Wayne,” someone behind her said through gritted teeth. Oh boy. Felicity would recognize that voice anywhere. She winced and slowly turned around to see Oliver Queen standing behind her. It had just started snowing and little flakes were sticking to his hair.

“Queen,” Bruce Wayne – she was really going to have to stop calling him by both names – replied amicably.

Oliver glared at Bruce Wayne, who only grinned back. Felicity felt like she watching a tennis match. “I didn’t expect you to come, decided to crash the party?” Bruce Wayne – God, she _had_ to stop calling him that – asked jovially.

“Change of plans,” Oliver replied. He hadn’t once glanced in her direction, and she felt kind of ignored.

Wayne – she could call him Wayne, right? Was it weird? Mr. Wayne? – just shrugged. “Well, you know the drill around here. Spend some money, drink champagne… I’ll just keep entertaining miss…?” Wayne trailed off, looking at her expectantly.

“Uhm…” she said eloquently. For some reason she’d suddenly forgotten what her own name was. Or how to talk for that matter.

“Felicity,” Oliver ground out, still glaring at Wayne – that sounded weird too, maybe she should call him Bruce? But they hadn’t actually been introduced, that would be awkward. Whatever, she was just going to keep calling him Wayne in her head until he said something.

“Felicity, huh? Lovely name,” Wayne complimented, giving her that winning smile.

Oliver stepped forward, putting an arm around her waist. “I’m sure you’re needed inside, I’ll keep her company,” he said, still not looking at her.

Okay, what the hell was going on here? Two of the richest guys on the planet were… What were they even doing. It felt like a pissing contest to her.

Wayne eyed the two of them, and it felt almost like he was analyzing the situation. Which was… odd… Eventually, he shrugged. “Well, alright then. Felicity, have fun, and Queen… try to smile a little, you’ll get wrinkles.” And with that parting shot, he sauntered off, still grinning.

Felicity turned to Oliver, but he was still glaring at the spot where Wayne had disappeared from view. “Oliver?” she said hesitantly.

Finally, he turned to her, and his icy blue eyes once again made her heart skip a beat. There was something there, some unidentifiable emotion, too deep for her to see clearly. She was afraid to talk, to break the spell of the moment. In the softly falling snow and dim porch lights, he looked almost like a ghost. Unbidden, her hand reached out to touch him, as if to reassure her that he was really there.

When her hand touched his cheek, he closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. A second later, she found herself enveloped into his arms. What was a hug between friends, right, this didn’t mean anything… right?

Soon – much too soon – Oliver pulled away, but remained standing fairly close. “I didn’t know you were coming,” Felicity whispered. “Here, I mean, not to me, I wasn’t suggesting, I mean. I didn’t know you were going to be at Bruce Wayne’s house.”

The corner of Oliver’s mouth twitched upwards in that familiar smile she liked to pretend was just for her. It diminished the severe look he’d worn earlier, and made her feel more at ease. “Like I said, change of plans,” he replied easily.

Felicity smiled tentatively, not sure what to say. Suddenly, Oliver frowned at her. “You’re cold, he said, stepping closer again and rubbing his hands up and down her arms. She hadn’t even noticed she’d been shivering until she felt the warmth that was Oliver Queen close to hers. She blushed again.

Once he realized that it was far too cold for that to help, Oliver shrugged off his jacket in one smooth motion and draped it over her shoulders. “There,” he murmured, and she felt warm for an entirely different reason.

As he moved away from her, she reached out and touched his arm, reassuring herself once again that this wasn’t a dream. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Oliver smiled – a real, honest smile, one that she didn’t get to see nearly often enough. “You’re welcome,” he replied, equally softly.

They just smiled at each other for a few seconds, until boisterous laughter and the breaking of glass from the ballroom interrupted them. Felicity looked down as Oliver shoved his hands into his pockets. Unlike Wayne had done it earlier, she had the feeling that he did it more to give his hands something to do, instead of doing it to look nonchalant.

“So… Plans for Christmas?” she asked, somewhat awkwardly.

Oliver smiled again. “Big party tomorrow night that’s probably going to suck, and family stuff the day after. You?”

Felicity shrugged. “Whatever Katie’s family does, they celebrate on Christmas Eve, and have dinner at Katie’s grandparents’ the next day.”

“That reminds me,” Oliver said, and got one hand out of his pocket. His hand was fisted, and he held it out to her. Confused, Felicity held out a hand. Something warm and metallic fell onto her palm. She frowned, and looked at it a little closer. It was a necklace. And not just any necklace, either. It had a round, silver pendant, inside of which was a bit of blue motherboard.

“It’s from your cell phone,” Oliver said, looking more awkward than anything. “It’s stupid, I shouldn’t have–” He reached out to take it back, but Felicity quickly closed her hand.

“No. I love it,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t get you anything…”

He smiled again. “That’s alright, I don’t need anything.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “Giving gifts isn’t about what you need, Oliver, it’s about the gesture. Just you wait, I’m going to find the perfect gift for you,” she said confidently. Oliver’s smile grew.

“Lissa, are you–” Katie said loudly, stumbling out of the doors and into the cold night. The moment was broken, and Felicity quickly took a step back. “I’m sorry,” Katie said, looking at them wide-eyed.

Oliver smiled thinly at her. “It’s alright, I was just heading out.”

Felicity whirled back to face him. “What? But you only just got here!”

“I’ve been here an hour, but I couldn’t find you. And I told you, it was a last-minute thing. Dad’s going to stay here, but mom wanted me to be home tonight. I’m flying the jet home, and dad’s chartering a plane,” he explained.

“Oh,” Felicity said, once again at a loss for words.

“I’ll see you at school, Felicity,” Oliver said softly, and with that, walked off into the snow. Presumably, he knew his way around, but Felicity couldn’t help but worry. She was a worrier.

It was only then that his earlier words registered with her. Had he come to the gala just to see her?

/*/

“Seriously, though, he came all the way here!” Katie said excitedly.

They were sitting on Katie’s bed, both wearing their warmest flannel pajamas and holding a cup of hot chocolate. They’d gone home not long after Oliver had left, because Katie’s parents had wanted them to be able to get up early the next day.

Of course, this meant girl talk, and Katie just wouldn’t let it go that Oliver had showed up, looked like a lost puppy for an hour, and had only talked to Felicity.

“Look, the only reason he even came over probably was because he saw me talking to Bruce Wayne, and his alpha male ego wouldn’t–” Felicity tried to explain, but Katie interrupted her.

“Wait, what? You talked to Bruce Wayne? He almost never shows up at these galas, and when he does, he’s hours too late and leaves quickly. Practically _no one_ can make him stand still long enough to have an actual conversation,” Katie exclaimed, seeming more stunned by the minute.

“Well, I did smack straight into him, so he really had no choice but to stand still. And then I babbled and he was practically doubled over laughing, so… it wasn’t much of a conversation.”

Katie groaned and fell back onto her bed, her cup of hot chocolate forgotten on her nightstand. “I don’t believe you. You talk to the single most desirable, rich and young people on the planet, you babble, and still they don’t run for the hills!”

Felicity shot her a deadpan look. “Thanks, I can just feel the love and confidence,” she said sarcastically.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that, Liss. You’re the most amazing person ever and both of those idiots would be beyond lucky to have you, but that’s just not who they are. They look down at everyone, and they do whatever the hell they please. Normally, they wouldn’t give girls like us the light of day,” she said, sitting back up.

“Girls like us?”

“Girls with a brain,” Katie clarified.

“I can’t speak for Wayne, but Oliver isn’t like that, you know. You’ve seen him on movie nights, you know that,” Felicity said.

Katie shrugged one shoulder. “He isn’t like that _anymore_ , but he used to be. You don’t know how much he’s changed in the past few months, Lissa. Granted, I didn’t see much of him before, but I met him a few times. He hit on me three times, and forgot that he’d already tried to come on to me every single time.”

“That’s just a front he puts on–”

“And that’s just the thing. Even if it _is_ a front, it’s never slipped before, but now he’ll letting people in. He’s letting you in.”

Felicity had no clue what to say to that. Absentmindedly, she fingered the chain around her neck. She’d only put it on when they were changing into their pajamas, and then told Katie that it was an early Christmas gift from her mom. She wasn’t sure why she’d lied, but she wanted to keep that little tidbit to herself.

Was Oliver really that different? Or did he just show her who he really was?

Did it matter?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys! I'm loving the response I'm getting! 348 kudos, 73 comments and 51 bookmarks? That's awesome, thank you all!  
> Btw, if you're interested in more, check out my two other Arrow fics!


	19. Chapter 19

** Chapter 19: **

**Oliver POV ~ Thursday 25 December**

For once, it wasn’t Thea’s squeals that woke him up on Christmas morning. Instead, he heard glass shatter, and the familiar sound of his parents’ argument. Seriously, of all the days to argue, did they have to do it on Christmas morning?

He could only pick out some of the words, but he could guess what the argument was about. It’s not like they ever argued about anything else when they thought no one else could hear. Oliver was no fool, he realized that most of his father’s ‘business trips’ had nothing to do with QC, and everything with the beautiful women that threw themselves at his father, but Thea was a lot more innocent.

Oliver glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even 7 a.m. yet, but Thea should have been up and sneaking peaks at the presents already. Which probably meant that she’d heard the argument, clear as day. Kicking off his blankets, Oliver rushed downstairs, but the Christmas tree – and the presents – appeared untouched. Looking into the kitchen, dining room and parlor didn’t produce any results either, so, eventually, Oliver climbed the stairs and checked the attic for his little sister. She only hid there when she was really upset, and didn’t want anyone to find her.

Anger bubbled to the surface. Why couldn’t his parents just get along? Or ignore each other, like so many others did? He didn’t really care what they did, but Thea… she didn’t understand, she was so young…

A box fell over. “Thea?” he whispered. It was still dark, and he hadn’t thought to bring a flashlight, so he only had the moonlight to guide him.

A sniffle caught his attention, and – soon enough – a little, dust-covered girl appeared from behind a stack of boxes. “Why do they have to argue?” came her small voice.

Oliver walked over and picked her up. She was far too big for that, of course, but it seemed to calm her down somewhat. It was a technique dad employed as well. “I don’t know, Speedy…” And then something occurred to him. “You know what? They’re just in a bad mood because they don’t get as many presents as we do. How about we leave them here and go on an adventure?” he asked conspiratorially.

Thea leaned back to look at him. “An adventure?” she asked hesitantly. Granted, not all of his adventures ended all that well, but he thought this would be a good idea.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun, I promise,” he said, hoping he wouldn’t have to break that promise.

“Will Tommy come with?” she asked hopefully, sliding her legs down so she was standing on the ground again.

Oliver grimaced. “You know he can’t, Speedy, he’s in Fiji with his dad. But we can brag to him when we get back, how does that sound?” he asked.

Thea grinned and gave one nod. It was settled, now all Oliver had to do, was arrange it.

He and Thea quickly made an overnight bag, left a note for their parents, and hopped into dad’s BMW. Oliver told Felicity to call their pilot on his cell and put it on speaker, after which he made the proper arrangements. It wasn’t until they were safely seated in the plane, having gotten some breakfast, that he gathered up the courage to make the final phone call.

“It’s too early,” the sleepy voice on the other side of the line said after she’d finally picked up the phone.

“It’s Oliver,” he replied, already grimacing at his blunt answer.

There was a pause on the other side of the line, followed by a rustling of sheets. “Come again?” she asked, sounding marginally more awake this time.

“It’s Oliver. Look, Katie, I need a favor,” Oliver said, a little sheepishly.

Another pause. “You’re serious. Why?”

Oliver got up and moved out of his sister’s earshot. “Look. I wouldn’t be asking this if it weren’t for my sister, just… please?” he asked, reluctantly.

Katie seemed to need some time to process everything he said this morning. “Fine. What is it?”

“I need a place to stay for me and my sister. Just for the rest of the day and the night. We’ll leave in the morning.”

“I’d ask why, but I just remembered we aren’t friends and I don’t think I want to know either way. Which reminds me, why should I help you?” she asked, sounding more confused than mean.

She had a point. Oliver could have called Laurel, but her dad was a detective, and wouldn’t have hesitated to drag Oliver and Thea back to the mansion, Tommy was out of town, and his other friends… they weren’t really friends. And he wouldn’t want anyone to get wind of his parents’ troubles. At least Katie lived in Gotham, and her parents weren’t in any way involved with his, as far as he knew. They’d know him by name, but the chance of them knowing even his reputation, was slim.

“Please, Katie. I realize I don’t have any right to ask, but… Thea thinks we’re going on an adventure. I could take her to a hotel, but mom and dad would find us right away, as would the press, and… she doesn’t need any of that crap right now. I just want to give her a nice Christmas.” God, he was going all sappy. He’d meant to go for charming, but it seemed like his charm had abandoned him.

This time, the silence dragged on for so long, he wasn’t sure if she hadn’t hung up on him in the middle of his explanation. “Katie?” he prodded.

“Okay. I’ll let my parents know some friends are spending the night. And your folks won’t hear a thing from me,” she finally said.

Oliver let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Katie, I owe you one. Seriously, anything you need.”

“I’ll remember that, Queen. When do you land?” she asked.

“Uhm…” He glanced at his watch. He was going to have to reset it for eastern time. “Three hours from now.”

“So around 11? I’ll have a cab waiting for you at the airstrip. Does your pilot know where to land?”

“Yeah, the airstrip that your parents own, right?”

“Please, my parents only own part of it. Unlike your family, Queen, mine doesn’t mind sharing, and they don’t like squandering it.” Though her words weren’t necessarily kind, her tone was playful, and Oliver knew her well enough to know that Katie was a lot of things, but she wasn’t mean.

“You’re just jealous, McMillan,” he replied easily, matching her tone.

“I’ll see you then, Queen.”

“Wait. Could you… could you not tell Felicity?” he asked cautiously. Because of course he hadn’t forgotten that she was there. He always knew where she was. In a strictly non-stalker-y way, as the genius in question would say.

“Uhm… sure? Any particular reason?”

“Just…” he trailed off. Why didn’t he want Felicity to know? He sighed. “Just don’t tell her.”

Katie waited a moment before agreeing and hanging up. When Oliver sat back down in his seat across from Thea, he was met with a pair of inquisitive brown eyes. “Where are we going, Ollie?”

Oliver smiled at her. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for his little sister. “We’re going to Gotham, do you remember our last visit there?”

“I was three, of course I don’t remember,” she said, a ‘duh’ look on her face.

Oliver chuckled. “Right. Well, we’re going to visit some friends of mine, and we’re going to have a great day, I promise.”

Thea scrunched up her face. “But then when are we opening presents? Are we going to wait until tomorrow?”

Oliver considered it for a second, before getting up and retrieving his bag out of the overhead compartment. He’d grabbed his present for Thea from under the tree before they’d left, knowing she’d need something to keep her curiosity at bay. He dug out the carefully wrapped parcel. It was really tiny, but he saw the curiosity on Thea’s face.

“It’s so small,” she said, examining it without opening up the paper. She always did that. She liked to guess what it was in her head. She used to do it out loud, but after a few wrong guesses, she’d get too impatient and embarrassed, so she kept it to herself these days. Still, it was pretty funny to watch.

Grinning, Oliver held out his hand. “I can always take it back…?” he suggested playfully.

Thea instantly clutched the package to her chest. “No! It’s mine now.” She shot Oliver another distrusting glare, before turning her attention back to the package. Carefully, she opened it up, not even ripping the paper as she used to do. Something silvery fell out onto Thea’s palm.

“It’s a charm bracelet,” Oliver explained, lifting it out of her hand to show it to her. “I added one charm already. It’s a guardian angel, so you know I’ll always watch over you, no matter where I am.”

She looked up at him with wide eyes. “Even when you’re at school in Nevada?”

He grinned and put the bracelet on her outstretched arm. “Even there, Speedy.” The little angel sparkled in the light of the rising sun. it had little diamonds on the wings, and was carrying a heart in its arms. That, too, had diamonds on it, and it was made of gold, just like Thea’s. Oliver told her as much, and her whole face lit up.

As soon as the bracelet was properly on, and she’d had a chance to admire the angel, Thea shot out of her chair and hugged Oliver. “You’re the best big brother ever, Ollie,” she whispered.

It’s funny how it took him moving to another state for him to realize that that was all he ever wanted to be.

/*/

**Felicity POV**

“Where are we going?” Felicity asked for the third time. Katie was being particularly stubborn about their destination this morning. She was sure it had something to do with the phone call the other girl had received earlier, but Felicity had just turned around and gone back to sleep, and now she was dying of curiosity and Katie wouldn’t talk.

“Come one, Katie, the world isn’t going to implode if you just tell me where we’re going,” she whined.

Katie just rolled her eyes and kept looking forwards, a teasing smile tugging at her lips. “You’ll see , just be patient will you? I promised I wouldn’t tell.”

“Promised who?” Felicity asked, unsuccessful in trying to look innocent as she did.

“I’m not telling you, Liss, so you might as well let it go,” Katie replied, but there was a laugh in her words.

Felicity sat back in her seat, grumbling. She couldn’t help it that she was curious, it was just who she was! That morning, after the phone call, Katie had left the room for a bit, at which point Felicity had fully woken up. She was a little suspicious as to what her best friend was up to. When Katie had gotten back, they’d gotten dressed, had breakfast, and just hung around in Katie’s room for a bit. Felicity hadn’t been fooled, however, because Katie kept glancing at the clock.

Eventually, Katie had suggested going for a ride. Again, Felicity was suspicious, because Katie was horrible at keeping secrets. Well, most of the time. Sometimes, when the secret was important enough, she could keep her mouth shut.

The drive only took about ten minutes, and before long, they were at what looked like a private airstrip. A private airstrip where a jet had just landed. It was taxiing towards the silo where they were waiting. This day just got weirder and weirder.

Felicity briefly considered that Cody was coming, but why would Katie keep that a secret? And Cody had specifically said that he wouldn’t be able to come by because of his family obligations. So who could this be?

Bouncing impatiently on the tips of her toes, Felicity managed to keep her mouth shut and just wait. Even though it was pretty much excruciating. She was itching to get out her tablet and hack the passenger manifest, but she figured that would take about as much time as just waiting. And, you know, be far more illegal.

Finally, the jet stopped and the door opened. The first one out was the pilot, who paid them no mind and set about checking the state of the aircraft.

The next one out was Oliver Queen.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't updated sooner, I feel really bad!

** Chapter 20: **

**Thea POV ~ 25 December**

Contrary to popular opinion, Thea was not as oblivious to the world around her as people seemed to believe. The last hour of their flight to Gotham, Ollie had been quiet, nervous, almost. He’d checked his phone a few times, even though he’d turned it off for fear that their parents would call. She’d also noticed that whenever Ollie was home, he’d spend an awful lot of time of the phone with a girl named Felicity. That in and of itself wasn’t an unusual occurrence, but the way he talked to her… it didn’t sound like the times he talked to any of his other girlfriends. He sounded so… soft, less arrogant.

She was no fool, she knew her brother’s reputation, mostly because of gossip she overheard at school, or even conversations he’d had with Tommy. But when he talked to this Felicity girl, he sounded… different.

Thea was incredibly curious, so when they landed, she could hardly contain her excitement. Her brother probably attributed that to the impromptu visit to Gotham, but secretly, Thea wanted to meet this mystery girl. Oliver hadn’t mentioned her presence there, of course, but Thea knew that must have been the reason for how nervous he’d been acting.

Oliver exited the plane before her and paused in the doorway, blocking her view. He was such an idiot sometimes. Thea shoved him, and he ungraciously slipped down one step. She did feel a little bad about that, but at least now she could see. A nice, black town car was waiting for them, two brunette girls waiting beside it. Thea didn’t know anything about Felicity, of course, but she supposed she must be the girl who dressed the nicest. The one on the right, then.

Bypassing a still-frozen Oliver, Thea skipped down the stairs and walked over to the girls. They looked about Ollie’s age, but she couldn’t be sure.

“Hi, I’m Thea,” she said politely, as she’d been taught, and stuck out her hand. She offered it to the brunette on the right first.

The girls exchanged a glance, and Thea had the same feeling she got whenever adults thought she was doing something ‘cute’. She didn’t really understand what was cute about introducing yourself, but she let it slide, as she always did. Grown-ups were weird.

“Hi, Thea, I’m Katie, I’m a friend of Oliver’s,” the brunette on the right answered.

Thea’s smile faltered. “You’re not Felicity?” she asked, confused.

The other brunette stepped forward. “How do you know my name?” Her words sounded accusatory, but her tone was gentle and confused. Thea had to reassess the situation. She looked the other brunette – Felicity – up and down. She was wearing plain clothes, nothing of a major brand, but it was well put-together, she supposed. Something some of the less fortunate people at her school would wear. At least, that’s what her mother would call them. Apparently, calling someone poor wasn’t proper.

Thea was saved from having to answer when Ollie stepped up next to her and slipped an arm around her shoulder. She was grateful. It was really cold up here, and even just breathing hurt a little. Oliver was always warm, mother would even jokingly call him their furnace sometimes. Though she wasn’t entirely sure what a furnace was…

“Thea has an annoying tendency to eavesdrop, unfortunately,” Ollie replied, his usual charming grin firmly in place.

“I do not!” Thea protested, but – even though her words were louder – they were drowned out by Felicity’s whisper.

“Oliver.”

Ollie didn’t answer. Thea looked up at him and then back at the girl. Yup, definitely something happening there. She wasn’t entirely sure what, but she honestly didn’t care at the moment. Her excitement had worn off and now she was freezing. She told her brother as much.

Oliver’s gaze was pulled from the girl’s, and he immediately started rubbing her arms, drawing her even closer.

“She’s right, we should get into the car,” the other girl – Katie – said. “My parents had the cook prepare us something, we should head back.”

And then, without further ado, they all piled into the car and set off, probably toward this Katie’s house. Oh, she hoped they had horses!

/*/

**Felicity POV**

She couldn’t believe this was happening. First, _he_ shows up – unannounced – at a ball and hands her a gorgeous necklace, only to disappear immediately, like some mysterious fairytale prince, and now he was here. Again. Sitting only one seat over from her, squashed in the back of Katie’s dad’s car.

Thea was sitting in between them, and had been staring at her intently the entire ride back to the house. And how was it that Oliver’s eight-year-old little sister knew her name anyway? Did Oliver talk about her? Felicity resisted the urge to shake her head in order to clear it. Why would Oliver Queen talk about her?

And, for that matter, what the hell was he doing here? And had Katie known about this? She glanced over at her best friend, seated beside their driver. She _had_ received a phone call that morning… Had that been Oliver? But why hadn’t he called her?

“You’re sort of pretty,” the little girl beside her suddenly said.

“Thea!” Oliver scolded, sounding for all the world like a parent.

“Uhm… thanks?” Felicity responded, regarding the girl strangely. She was obviously very different from Oliver, but she could also see the similarities.

“It was a compliment. Usually Oliver only hangs out with the _really_ pretty girls, but they’re always mean,” Thea explained, like she was talking about the weather. Oliver buried his head in his hands.

“I take it that means you don’t think I’m mean?” Felicity asked, still hugely confused by this tiny little conundrum of a girl. The few times she’d tried to picture Thea Queen, she’d either seen a bratty, spoiled girl, or the little angel Oliver would sometimes describe. Apparently absence did make the heart grow fonder, because sitting next to his sister now, Oliver didn’t look like he still thought his sister was an angel.

Thea shook her head, almost solemnly. “No, you’re nice. I can tell.”

“How?” Felicity asked, despite herself. Really, asking an eight-year-old about their reasoning was probably not her brightest idea, but it was still early, and she hadn’t had a cup of coffee yet.

“You have a nice smile.”

Felicity didn’t really know what to say to that, and Oliver still had his head buried in his hands, so she just smiled tentatively, and looked to Katie for advice. Her best friend, however, was just staring back, looking like the cat that ate the canary. She was no help.

The rest of the ride passed in relative silence. Thea was humming an unknown song under her breath, while playing with a bracelet that had an angel charm on it. Oliver eventually emerged and promptly started staring out the window.

When they finally arrived, Katie had a servant show Oliver and Thea to their room, while she and Felicity went to the kitchen. Two cups of hot chocolate were already waiting for them. “Okay, what the hell Katie?” Felicity said as soon as Oliver and his sister were out of hearing range. “What is he doing here? Did you know about this? What is going on?”

Katie held up her hand. “He just called me this morning, he needed a place to stay and his usual hideout was apparently unavailable.”

Felicity frowned. “Usual hideout?”

“His best friend’s house. Merlyn I think, but I don’t know his first name, Katie replied impatiently. She sat down on one of the barstools and cupped her hot chocolate in her cold hands, blowing on it lightly.

“Tommy,” Felicity supplied immediately. “Why did he need a hideout? And why did he take his sister?”

Katie shrugged. “He wasn’t exactly forthcoming, and I didn’t want to pry. It’s none of my business, but I’m sure his parents know where he is.”

Felicity’s eyes widened. “Oh God. He wouldn’t have run away, would he?”

Katie rolled her eyes again. “Why would he? He’s rich, his parents spoil him and his sister, and they get more leniency because of his family name. I think this is more of a temporary thing. I ran away once.”

That got her attention. “Really?” Felicity asked, curious. What did Katie have to run away from?

The other girl shrugged. “I’d gotten into an argument with my parents. I didn’t get far, mind you, I camped out in the loft above the garage, but that night there was a storm and I got scared, so I ran straight back to mom and dad. They’d known where I was the whole time, I hadn’t even questioned why food kept showing up at the door to the loft. I’m sure it’s just something dumb like that.”

Felicity bit her lip. She knew Oliver. He would probably risk running off on his own, but to take his sister…? She really hoped he was okay.

/*/

**Oliver POV**

Despite his little sister’s annoying comments, he was glad he’d taken her here. She didn’t have that troubling look in her eyes anymore, she looked… lighter.

At the moment, she was busy surveying their room, making sure to memorize every detail. She hadn’t said very much so far, which was a little out of the ordinary for her, but then, this whole situation was a little out of the ordinary.

Katie had been nice enough and had – as per her word – not told Felicity anything… Felicity… Oliver fought the urge to run a hand through his hair as he thought about the cheerful brunette. He still didn’t quite know why he’d asked Katie not to tell her. Maybe because he hadn’t wanted her to worry, or maybe because he didn’t want her to feel insulted because he hadn’t called her first.

“Ollie?” Thea’s voice interrupted his train of thought.

“Yeah?” he said, turning around to face her. She was fiddling with the edge of her shirt, a sure sign that something was up. “What’s wrong?” he asked, walking over to her. He put a hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her nerves somewhat.

“Are mom and dad getting a divorce?” she asked in a small voice.

Oliver sighed and pulled her close. Anger flared up in him at his parents’ actions. Why couldn’t they just hide their problems like everyone else? “They’re not getting divorced, Speedy, they’re just going through a rough patch. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

Thea clung to him, staring at the ground. “But what if it’s not? What’s going to happen?”

Stepping back, Oliver held his sister at arm’s length and looked into her eyes. “Look at me, Thea. It’s not going to happen. Mom and dad argue, yes, but they love each other, and they love us, they wouldn’t do that.” If only to save face, he added silently.

Thea didn’t say anything, but stepped forward and burrowed into his shoulder again. “Do I ever lie to you, Thea?” he asked, willing her to believe him.

“All the time,” she replied, amusement in her voice.

Oliver pulled at her hair gently. “Brat,” he said fondly. “I promise mom and dad aren’t splitting up.”

“Okay,” she whispered eventually. Oliver let her go and gently pushed her towards the bathroom so she could freshen up.

It was none too soon, because as soon as Thea had disappeared through the door, a knock came to the door leading to the hallway. Felicity was on the other side, looking a little uncomfortable. “Getting settled in?” she asked when he opened the door.

“Yeah,” he replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. It’s not that he didn’t want to talk to her – it had been the only thing on his mind the entire plane ride – he just didn’t know what to say.

Felicity bit her lip, and Oliver knew she was about to ask something he didn’t want to answer. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked in a rush. “I mean, not that you have to justify your every action to me, but you called Katie! And you knew I’d be here, so you knew I was going to find out, and then Katie told me you’d asked her not to tell, and now I’m confused. Friends tell each other things, you know, not that I’m presuming you need to tell me everything, but when it pertains to me, I– ”

“Felicity!” Oliver snapped. Instead of his usual amusement at her babbling, he only felt annoyed. “Just drop it, okay?” When he saw the look on her face, he immediately regretted snapping. He wasn’t even angry at her, she had a right to ask, after all, he just… he didn’t want to think about his problems for now. Running a hand over his face, he collected himself. “Look, I’m sorry, but I just don’t want to talk about it. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Felicity searched his face for… something, but nodded eventually. “Okay. Just… I’m here if you want to talk.”

Oliver nodded. He didn’t want to burden Felicity with the drama of his home life, but it was a nice thought. He’d call Tommy later that day to vent.

“Ollie?” Thea’s voice drifted over from the bathroom door. She stood there hesitantly, like she wasn’t sure whether to enter or retreat.

“Hi, Thea,” Felicity said kindly, smiling at the little girl. “I was just about to suggest we go do something, you up for it?”

Thea looked to her brother, and Oliver nodded, smiling as well. His anger was dissipating now, in the face of Felicity’s kindness. She never ceased to amaze him. “What are we going to do?” Thea asked, taking two steps into the room, not quite reaching them, but showing that she wasn’t about to bolt.

“Whatever you want. Katie’s parents left early this morning to visit Katie’s grandma, so we have the house to ourselves,” Felicity said, grinning.

Thea scrunched up her face. “Don’t you have to celebrate Christmas?”

“Katie’s family celebrates on Christmas eve, not Christmas day, it’s a day for relaxing, they told me. If you want you can change into your pajamas and we can have a movie marathon? Katie has every single Disney DVD, and I’ve been wanting to check them out.

Thea’s eyes lit up. “Really?” Then she cleared her throat and pushed her hair behind her ears, and Oliver knew she was embarrassed by her enthusiasm. “My friends think it’s dumb that I still like Disney movies…” she admitted.

Felicity snorted. “Oh please, Disney movies are the best! Mulan’s my favorite; kick ass leading lady and the romance is a sub plot.”

“Oh come on, Beauty and the Beast is so much better! The heroine is a smart brunette who craves adventure!” Thea responded immediately, following Felicity out the room.

Oliver wasn’t exactly sure how, but he was fairly sure he had just been roped into a Disney marathon. He shrugged and followed his sister out. The sacrifices he made for family…


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, but here it is!  
> Also, next chapter, they're going to be back at school!

** Chapter 21: **

**Felicity POV ~ 25 December**

Watching Disney was fun. Thea was an adorable kid, and even Oliver’s sarcastic comments were worth it. She still worried, though. Oliver still wouldn’t tell her what had happened, or why he refused to turn on his phone. Thea didn’t seem overly bothered, so that was probably a plus, but every time the eight-year-old left the room, Oliver seemed that much more on edge.

“So what’s your favorite Disney movie, Queen?” Katie asked Oliver, maybe a little arrogantly.

“Hercules,” he replied without pause. Felicity snorted, of course Oliver’s favorite movie would be the one about a legendary Greek hero.

“I would have thought it would be treasure planet,” she replied playfully.

“Huh?” was his eloquent reply.

Thea rolled her eyes. “He hasn’t seen it. He wouldn’t take me to the movie theatre. He said watching Disney movies in the theatre is bad for his image.” Her tone was so sarcastic, and the air quotes to typical for a younger sibling, that Felicity couldn’t help but laugh. She could just imagine Thea trying to drag her brother out to watch Treasure Planet, only for him the grumble all the way and glare at everything in sight. Actually, the thought of Oliver standing in line to get popcorn was pretty hilarious at that moment.

Thea, Katie and Oliver were all looking at her with concerned faces. No doubt a result of her sudden and hysteric laughter fit.

“It’s okay, she does that sometimes,” Katie said with a shrug. She turned back to the huge screen and selected another movie.

Felicity sniffed and managed – barely – to compose herself. “I’m going to get some more drinks, does anyone want anything?” she asked, already getting up.

“I was about to put in Pocahontas!” Katie protested.

Waving her away, Felicity took another step towards the door. “It’s okay, I think I’ve memorized every Disney movie already. I’ll catch up.”

“Could you get some more popcorn, please?” Thea asked. “Ollie ate all of it.”

Felicity snorted and left the room, followed by the sounds of Oliver’s protests and the opening credits of Pocahontas.

She popped some popcorn in the microwave and went to fetch a coke bottle, when her phone rang. Since her mom had already called her the night before, Felicity wasn’t sure who it could be. Letty and Dylan both had plans, as did most of her other friends.

Setting the soda bottle back down, she picked up. “Hello?”

“Miss Smoak? This is Moira Queen.”

Felicity was glad she’d put down the bottle, or she would definitely have dropped it. “Oh, uhm… Mrs. Queen! I… How can I help you?” she managed to ask.

Mrs. Smoak sighed, and Felicity could hear the weariness. “I’m looking for my children. I understand that you are usually the person to ask.”

Felicity could feel her cheeks heat up. “Uhm…” She wasn’t sure if Oliver wanted his parents to know where he was.

“I understand that you don’t want to betray his trust, and I commend your loyalty. But they are my children, and they shouldn’t be away from home at Christmas. Just… tell Oliver that… We are sorry, and we just want him and Thea to come home.”

Felicity bit her lip. “Mrs. Queen, I… I’m sure they’re alright,” she said lamely.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I understand. And thank you, miss Smoak.”

Before Felicity could answer, Mrs. Queen had hung up, and she was left to stare at her phone. Felicity wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened or if she’d said anything wrong, but she was fairly sure she needed to tell–

“Hey, what’s taking you so long?”

Speak of the devil. “Hey Oliver. Uhm, I need to tell you something,” she said, hopping onto the counter.

Oliver leaned against the fridge door opposite to her. “Sure, what’s up?”

Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, Felicity thought about what she should say.

Oliver tensed up and stepped forward. “Hey, you know you can talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I just got a call, and… I thought you should know about it.”

Nodding, Oliver indicated that she should continue.

“It was your mom, and she’s really worried about you. Thea too, of course, and she asked me where you were, and I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to give you away, but on the other hand, she sounded so tired, and I didn’t know what to do, so she just said that she understood, though I’m not entirely sure what she understood. I mean, I know she understood what I said, like the words and stuff, but it felt like she meant something–” she babbled.

“Felicity!” Oliver interrupted, not unkindly. “What did she say?”

Felicity took a deep breath to calm her racing thoughts. “She said ‘we’re sorry and we just want him and Thea to come home’.”

Oliver stepped back to lean against the fridge again, frowning to himself. Felicity was worried, and she was never very good with secrets. “Oliver… what happened? Please tell me?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t answer right away, but when he did, his voice was as soft as hers. “Mom and dad… they don’t get along very well anymore. They’re always arguing about everything, and… Christmas day and they couldn’t keep from biting each other’s head off. Thea, she… she idolizes them, I couldn’t… I needed to get her out of there,” he explained.

Felicity didn’t say anything, but hopped off the counter and stepped forward to give him a hug. Oliver tensed, but didn’t push her away. “You were being a good brother, there’s nothing wrong with that,” she whispered. After a few seconds, Oliver finally relaxed into the hug and wound his arms around her.

“She asked me today if mom and dad were going to split up, and I lied to her. I told her that they wouldn’t do that, but… Honestly, I don’t know. For all I know they’ve already contacted their lawyers.”

Felicity thought about that for a minute. “I don’t know, Oliver. I think you may have scared them enough to make them reconsider. Your mom sounded really tired and scared, Oliver. I mean, she’s one scary lady, but she does love you, and Thea, more than anything else. I think it’s one of her only redeeming qualities.” And then she realized what she’d said. She quickly backed out of the hug. “I mean, not that she isn’t a great person, I’m sure she is! Just being scary isn’t reason to- I mean, not that she’s scary, I’m sure she’s a wonderful person, really.”

Oliver chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Felicity, I’m well aware of my mom’s shortcomings.” Some of the tension seemed to have left his shoulders, and the tightness around his eyes was gone as well. At least her ramblings were good for one thing, then.

"Ollieeeeee!" Thea voice drifted in from the hallway. "Felicity! Come on, you're missing the movie!"

Oliver let out a breathy chuckle. “Someone’s getting impatient.” He made to leave, but Felicity stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Oliver? At least consider calling your parents?”

Oliver pursed his lips for a moment, before turning to face Felicity fully. “No need. I’m taking Thea home after the movie. It is Christmas after all. Which reminds me: merry Christmas, Felicity Smoak.”

She smiled softly at him. “Merry Christmas, Oliver Queen.” And then she followed him back into the media room.

/*/

**Oliver POV**

“Are you sure about this? You’re welcome to stay longer,” Katie offered. They were at the airstrip where the Queen jet was waiting for them.

“I’m sure, thanks, Katie,” Oliver replied, nodding to the girl. She gave him a half-smile, hugged Thea, and climbed back into the car. It was freezing after all.

Oliver waited a moment while Thea and Felicity said goodbye. He wasn’t entirely sure if he should be happy or horrified that his little sister and his… friend, got along so well. “Bye, Felicity,” the eight-year-old said, before dashing off towards the plane.

“So,” Felicity said awkwardly when it was just the two of them remaining. “I guess this is goodbye?”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “I’ll see you at school, it’s only a week and a half from now.”

“True. Take care, Oliver, and try not to get into any more trouble, will you?” she said sarcastically.

“Can’t make any promises,” he replied with a charming grin.

Felicity just rolled her eyes and gave him a light slap to the shoulder. “You’re incorrigible. I’m going to read about you in the gossip papers again next week, you’ll see.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow, and felt a smile tugging at his lips. So Felicity liked to read about him in the gossip columns, did she? Judging by the shade of red her face was turning, she had just replayed her words in her head and realized what she’d said. “No! Not that I usually read those, I don’t, I swear. I mean, yes, sometimes I’ll pick one up that Katie leaves around our room, but I, myself, don’t, I mean… I’m not some weird stalker-y person who reads everything there is to know about you, I swear. I’m not–” she babbled.

Oliver barely contained his laughter. Other people might be disturbed or insulted by her ramblings, but he loved it when she did that. “Sure, stalker girl. I’ll see you at school,” he said. Impulsively, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. If possible, Felicity turned even redder.

As he was walking towards the plane, he glanced over his shoulder one more time, and saw Felicity still rooted to the spot, a gloved hand covering the cheek he’d kissed. He couldn’t quite keep his smile to himself.

As he settled into a seat and the plane started moving, Thea eyed him suspiciously. “Is she your _girl_ friend?” she asked in that obnoxious little-sister voice.

“Thea!” he protested. “Felicity is _not_ my girlfriend!”

Thea sat back with a smug smile. “ _Suuuuuure_.”

Oliver let his head drop into his hands. This was going to be an extremely long flight.

/*/

At long last, they arrived back in Starling city, with minimal annoying-little-sister comments provided by Thea. To be honest, he was a little nervous about his parents’ reaction, but he steeled himself and remembered Felicity’s words: _You were being a good brother, there’s nothing wrong with that._

He grabbed his and Thea’s bags and stepped off the plane. It was still fairly early, though the skies were dark. A car was waiting for them. Thea stepped up next to him, and looked to him for a clue. Giving her his best smile, Oliver wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked towards the car. Two figures got out, and, before he could grasp the situation, he was wrapped in his mother’s embrace, while Thea was given the same treatment from their mother.

“We were so worried,” his mom whispered, running a hand through his hair. She stepped back, only to switch places with dad.

“Just so you know, we’ve instructed the pilot never, ever to take you anywhere without our permission again,” his dad said, but there was a smile on his face. “We’re just glad you’re safe.”

When they stepped back, his dad put an arm around his mom, which surprised Oliver. Usually they preferred to keep their distance from each other. Perhaps Felicity was right and they were turning over a new leaf? Oliver left hope soar in his chest, and he was sure it showed on his face. He didn’t care.

“We missed you too, mom, dad,” he said, smiling at them.

“Let’s go home,” his mother suggested, her voice thick with some unidentified emotion. “We still have presents to open, after all.”

Thea squealed. “Yay, presents! Come on, Ollie!” she shouted and jumped into the car.

Oliver and his parents chuckled at her antics. Looking at his parents, Oliver thought this might actually turn out to be a good Christmas. “Thank you,” he said. “For… for everything,” he finished softly.

His mom cupped his cheek. “My sweet boy. We’re sorry.”

Oliver just smiled and hugged each of his parents again. Yup, this was going to be a great Christmas.

/*/

**Felicity POV**

A few days after Oliver and Thea had returned home, a package arrived at Katie’s house, addressed to Felicity.

‘Oliver told me you might need this,’ was the only text on the card that accompanied it. Curious, Felicity tore the brown paper wrapping away and gazed in shock at the box. It was the newest, most advanced cell phone on the market.

“Oh my god, who sent it?” Katie asked, just as excited as her. She grabbed the note again and squinted at the signature. “Moira Queen?”

Felicity shrugged. “Don’t ask me, I have no clue.” In any other circumstance, Felicity wouldn’t accept a gift like that, but she’d been using a crappy, cheap phone to replace the one she’d broken, the one whose motherboard she now wore on a necklace, and it had frustrated her to no end. Who was she to deny a gift like that? It wasn’t like the Queen’s needed the money anyway. Right? She bit her lip. Crap, now she was starting to feel bad.

Katie swatted her shoulder. “Stop worrying, if they didn’t want to send a gift, they wouldn’t have. Just accept it!”

Slowly, a grin spread over Felicity’s face. “It is pretty awesome…” she said, opening the box.

Katie smiled at her proudly. “That’s my girl. Now, I want to test out that camera!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, check out my new story 'A different take', about Felicity's POV of the kiss that Oliver gave her.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may need tissues for this... And something to smash against the wall...

** Chapter 22: **

**Felicity POV ~ Mon. 2 February 2003**

January passed relatively uneventfully. Aside from the health assignment Oliver had roped her into, of course, but that was beside the point. At least she’d gotten extra credit for it, and Oliver had passed with a fair 84%. Things were a little more… interesting when February rolled around the corner.

As soon Felicity got up on the first of the month, she had a bad feeling. Not doom-is-coming bad, but more like a this-is-going-to-be-such-a-bad-day kind of feeling. As soon as she saw the decorations, she knew why.

There were hearts everywhere. Pink and red garlands adorned every hallway, and she was fairly sure someone had been playing with the glitter-o’-doom. It was everywhere.

“Don’t you like Valentine’s?” Katie asked as they were walking towards their respective classrooms.

“It’s not that I don’t like the holiday, I mean, it’s about love right? So celebrate away, it’s just…” she looked at a sickeningly cute drawing of a cherub holding a bow and heart-tipped arrow. “It’s the whole show everyone makes of it. When I was really little, my mom used to take me out to do something fun. She said she wanted to do it to celebrate how much she loved me.”

“Used to?” Katie asked gently.

Felicity shrugged. “We didn’t have the money anymore. And besides, I live in Vegas, Valentine’s doesn’t get any more commercialized than there. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people I’ve seen getting married in those little chapels. I just don’t understand why you’d need a special day to help you remember the people you love.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “I think you’re taking this way too seriously. I mean, yeah, they’re going a little overboard on the glitter and stuff, but it’s all in good fun. You’re just surly because you don’t have a date,” she said smugly.

Felicity abruptly stopped walking. “Okay, one: I am not surly. Two: if I was it wouldn’t be because I don’t have a guy to tell me how awesome I am, and three: I swear if you mention the words ‘blind’ and ‘date’ I am going to scream.”

Raising her eyebrows, Katie regarded her friend like she was crazy. “Uhm… sure. I actually just figured you’d have a movie night with Letty or something.”

Felicity awkwardly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and started walking again. “If she doesn’t have any plans.”

“Trust me, she’s not going to have any plans,” Katie replied, completely sure of herself.

Felicity frowned at her friend. “Okay? But if she does I’m sure Oliver…” Oh… Right… Oliver was definitely going to have plans. It was Valentine’s day, and – despite Felicity’s best efforts – he was still one of the schools biggest players. Even though he hadn’t technically broken up with Laurel. They were on a ‘break’, if she remembered correctly, but Oliver didn’t seem particularly worried.

“You were saying?” Katie prodded, a knowing look on her face.

Felicity blushed. She hadn’t told Katie about her feelings for Oliver, but she was sure the other girl could read her like a book. “What about Dylan. Do you know?” she asked quickly.

They came to a stop at their respective classrooms. Felicity had AP English, while Katie had physics in the classroom opposite hers. “Letty said that he was working up the nerve to ask someone, but she wouldn’t tell me who it was.”

Felicity opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the bell. She sighed. “I’ll see you after class, okay? Wait for me?”

“Sure thing,” Katie replied. “Have fun,” she added sarcastically as she entered her own classroom.

Felicity shook her head and entered her classroom. She had plenty of time to worry about this whole Valentine thing…

/*/

**Fri. 13 February**

It just figured that Friday the 13th would fall right before Valentine’s day. Katie could argue all she wanted, but Felicity was sure it was a sign.

“She said yes!”

Her musings on this evil day were interrupted when Dylan ran up to their little group. It had been an unseasonably warm day, so they were sitting outside one of the restaurants in the Lane, eating lunch.

Letty grinned and held out a fist. “I told you so! Here, have a celebratory tater tot,” she said, gesturing to her plate.

Dylan dutifully bumped her fist and sat down between her and Cody, who was looking on in relative confusion. “He asked his crush out on a Valentine’s date,” Katie explained.

Felicity smiled at her friend. “Congratulations. What are you going to do?”

Dylan shrugged. “Nothing fancy. We’re going to make pizza’s in our dorm’s kitchen and then watch a movie in my room. My roommate will be out with his girlfriend all night, so…” He was blushing, and it was kind of adorable. Dylan, for all his relaxed attitude when he was with friends, was still a shy guy, and he didn’t like to talk much, so this was a big deal.

“Sounds perfect to me,” Felicity commented, taking another bite out of her burger. The place they’d chosen for lunch looked like an old Irish pub, but it had the best pub food – like their gourmet burgers – and great hot chocolate.

“You’re going to _make_ pizza’s? Like, yourselves?” Cody asked curiously.

Dylan nodded, still blushing. “Yeah. Well, the crust is already made, I bought it yesterday, but we’re going to put sauce and veggies and stuff on it ourselves, and then pick a movie while it’s in the oven. My room is right next to the kitchen, and no one ever uses it anyway, so it’s perfect,” he replied proudly. “Right?” He asked, suddenly not so sure anymore.

Letty slung an arm over her best friend’s shoulders. “Of course it is! Personally, I would prefer to be fixing up my motorcycle, but the administration says I’m not allowed to have a working bike on campus…” she said, maybe a little bitterly.

“Well, Cody reserved a private table for us at Il Morso Perfetto, that Italian restaurant,” Katie said, sounding incredibly proud of her boyfriend.

Cody nodded. “After which we’re going for a boat ride on the lake.”

Felicity sighed. “See, now why can’t all guys be that romantic and sincere? All I have to look forward to is a pity candy rose this afternoon.”

Dylan frowned. “Candy ro– Oh no! I forgot to send one to Sara!”

“How could you forget? They’ve been standing in the hallway all week,” Felicity asked.

Letty rolled her eyes. “He only worked up the courage to ask her this morning, I’m sure the idiot just didn’t want to embarrass himself if she said no,” she said good-naturedly.

Dylan groaned and put his head down on the table. “You can have mine,” Felicity suggested. “I was going to send one to Letty, because I know she’s sending me a pity rose. You don’t mind, do you?” Felicity asked Letty.

“You were going to send me one? Really?” she asked, looking honestly surprised. “Oh, uhm, yeah, of course Dylan can have it.”

Felicity beamed. “There, problem solved. Letty can just give it to you, and you can give it to her in person.”

“So that just leaves us two girls,” Letty said quietly. Felicity frowned at her. She briefly wondered if Letty had wanted to spend the day with a guy she hadn’t told the rest of them about, but quickly dismissed it. Letty was one of the most open people she knew, she would have told them.

“So, Ben & Jerry’s and a movie?” Felicity asked.

“God, you two are so predictable,” Katie said, leaning into Cody.

Felicity glared. “You know, just because you said that, we’re going to play board games all night.”

Letty groaned. “Oh please don’t do that to me…”

Felicity shoved her shoulder. “Oh come on. I just bought a new one that’s supposedly pretty creepy. It’s called Atmosfear.”

“Oh, yay me,” Letty replied sarcastically.

/*/

**14 February**

“I’ll set up the board, can you close all the drapes and get the candles? They’re in the cabinet next to Katie’s bed,” Felicity said, motioning vaguely while she shuffled the cards. She was just about to put the tape in the VHS player when someone knocked at the door.

Felicity glanced at Letty, but the other girl shrugged, as confused as her.

Getting up and dusting herself off, Felicity walked over and opened the door.

And promptly froze when she saw who was on the other side. “Who is it?” Letty called over. She was bent over, looking through Katie’s cabinet in search of candles.

“Uhm.” Felicity looked back. “It’s Oliver,” she said, confused. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

Oliver grinned. “I made up with Laurel. She wants me to call her tonight and I can’t do it while I’m on a date, so… Are you having a movie night?” he asked, then looked over Felicity’s shoulder. “Oh hey Letty.”

Letty was standing a few feet behind Felicity, holding a candle and glaring at Oliver.

Felicity felt a surge of annoyance building up. “Oliver, you can’t just show up here without letting me know. And I refuse to be your entertainment, because you couldn’t find a date to _cheat_ on your _girlfriend_ with! I may not know Laurel, but I hardly think she deserves to be treated like that.”

Oliver frowned, looking angry as well. “Why do you care, you’ve never–”

Holding up a hand, Felicity interrupted him. “If you dare say that I’ve never protested before, I’m going to hit you! First of all, I’m not your mother, you should be able to figure out for yourself that cheating is _wrong_ , and second of all, I _have_ protested, vehemently, you’ve just never listened!”

“It’s none of your business what I do or who I hang out with!”

“You’re my best friend, of course it’s my business! Just because you’re such a man-whore…” Felicity hadn’t actually known how she was going to end that sentence, she just knew that calling him that would hurt him, and that had been her exact intent.

“Yeah, well maybe if you ever left your room, maybe you wouldn’t be such a naïve little prude!” Oliver shouted back and strode off down the corridor, seething.

Felicity slammed the door. “God, he is such an ass sometimes!” she spat. A few seconds of fuming later, she finally looked up, somewhat calmer.

Letty looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Man-whore?” she questioned, a smile tugging at her lips.

Felicity snorted, which set off Letty, which in turn made Felicity laugh. It felt good to laugh again.

Then she realized what had just happened, and that thought sobered her up pretty quickly. “Oh crap,” she muttered.

Letty walked over, still snickering a little, and put an arm around her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, he’ll be fine. He’s a big boy, he can take care of himself,” she comforted. It was a nice gesture, but it was somewhat lessened because she was still giggling from time to time.

Looking back over her shoulder at the door, Felicity realized that it might not be so easy. “I should go apologize…”

But Letty pulled her back to the half set-up board game. “Oh, his wounded ego will recover after he gets some sleep. You said this was a good game, so we’re going to play it before I change my mind. I hate board games, and I don’t play them for just anyone,” she said with a grin, her laughs finally subsiding.

Felicity smiled warmly back. “Thanks, Letty. I’ll go in the morning.”

Letty finally let go of her shoulder, and sat down on a pillow next to the board. “No prob. Now, how does this work?”

/*/

**15 February**

The next morning, Felicity stood at Oliver’s door, bright and early. She’d been tossing and turning all night, going over their argument in her head. She’d been a little snappish because of her resentment for the holiday, and she shouldn’t have been so short with him. They showed up at each other’s places unannounced all the time, so why had it bothered her so much this time?

She knocked, and patiently waited for someone to answer the door. She knew that Dean was most likely still at his girlfriend-of-the-week’s place, and wasn’t due back for a few hours at the least.

She heard someone move inside, and figured she must have woken Oliver up. He was generally a late sleeper, unlike her. When he finally opened the door, he looked pretty disheveled, like he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep either.

“Hey,” she said, a little breathlessly. Oliver only wearing boxers, and it wasn’t exactly helping her concentration. “I just… I wanted to say I’m sorry, for yesterday. I was being, well, I was being a bitch, because I don’t like Valentine’s day, which I think has its roots with my mother, it’s kind of a long story. Or, well, maybe not all that long, since it’s just that she still kind of goes off on a bender every year because of my dad, and–”

“Ollie?” A voice interrupted from inside the room. “Who is that?”

Felicity had a sick feeling in her throat. Oliver looked panicky now, as opposed to sleepy, which only served to further put her on edge. Before he could stop her, Felicity pushed the door open all the way, so she could see the other occupant in the room.

“Erica?” Felicity whispered when she saw the tousled-looking girl sitting half-naked in Oliver’s bed. She had the decency to look ashamed, at least. The sick feeling she’d been having intensified.

“Felicity, I–” Oliver started, but Felicity quickly took a step back, wanting more distance between them.

“Don’t. Just… just don’t. You slept with one of my friends?” she asked, hurt and confused. Embarrassingly, tears sprang to her eyes, even though she really had no reason to be upset.

Oliver was shaking his head, more out of a misguided attempt to calm her than an actual denial of the facts. “I’m…” He opened his mouth to say something else, but no sound came out.

Irrationally, anger surged to the forefront, and Felicity desperately wished she had something to throw at him. At this idiot boy who had unknowingly broken her heart. She let out a scream of anger and settled for shoving him in the chest, watching with satisfaction as he stumbled backwards.

Without waiting for him to recover, Felicity ran down the hall, desperate to get as far away from Oliver Queen as she could. As the tears finally fell and made their way down her cheeks, Felicity could barely form a coherent thought. All she knew was that it hurt, and that she couldn’t believe she’d been so _stupid_ to allow herself to develop feelings for _Oliver Queen_ of all people.

Everyone had warned her, and time and again, she’d ignored them. And for what? Because he was cute, and charming, and because she’d let herself believe that maybe, _just_ maybe, he felt something for her too. And that just proved that she was as naïve as Oliver had accused her of being. She had just never imagined that naïveté could hurt so much…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me! I swear, they will end up together, and no (permanent) harm will be done. I promise!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for chapter 22, and, while this chapter was emotionally just as draining, I'm pretty happy with it, and I think you will be too!

** Chapter 23: **

**Oliver POV ~ Sun. 15 February ~ evening**

He really screwed up this time. The irony was that he was hoping Felicity would see him for who he really was; a screw up not worth her time, he just… he never meant to hurt her in the process.

He’d been in love with Felicity ever since the Halloween fair, but he was also acutely aware that he didn’t deserve her. Felicity was… for lack of a better term, she was innocent, not corrupted by a world that tried its best to make her so. She deserved someone who would love her and be faithful to her.

But like the selfish bastard that he was, he hadn’t stayed away from her like he should have. She was the only person he didn’t have to pretend with, the only one who accepted him for who he was, and her friendship had become a lifeline that he had been unable to refuse. He’d gotten closer and closer to her, until it was obvious that there was something… something happening that should never happen between them. He’d only end up hurting her.

He really should just let the whole thing go and be happy that she was rid of him now, but her hurt face haunted him. He couldn’t just let it be, he had to explain. He’d just been so angry – he’d always had a bit of a temper – and when he bumped into Erica… He’d noticed that she hung around when he was with Dean or some of his other friends. And she lay the flirting on pretty thick, so he’d just thought _‘what the hell.’_ He’d had no idea she was a friend of Felicity’s. But Oliver Queen only had two ways of dealing with problems: get drunk and mess up or find a pretty girl to keep him company.

Except that the only thing he’d been able to think about when he was with Erica, was Felicity. The way she smiled, the way little things matter to her, the pride she took in being able to take care of herself, her keen intelligence…

All those times Felicity assured him that he was a better person, that he could strive to rise above the expectations people had for him, he always thought she saw something that wasn’t there. He was Oliver Queen, professional screw-up, how could he ever rise above that? And now he’d finally proven her wrong, hadn’t he? He wished he could see what she saw, what made her want to be his friend, despite his reputation, but however hard he tried, he just couldn’t.

And yet, he couldn’t let this go either. He just couldn’t bear to see her in pain, so that was why he stood outside her door now, begging her to talk to him, to let him explain, even if he didn’t know what he’d say.

Finally, the door opened, but the girl on the other side of the threshold wasn’t the one he’d hoped to see.

“She doesn’t want to see you, Oliver,” Katie said, looking more saddened than angry. “And she isn’t here anyway.

“What? Where did she go, I need to talk to her!” he insisted, looking over Katie’s shoulder, even though he knew she wasn’t lying.

“I don’t know, she asked me to leave her alone. Look, Oliver, I know you want to apologize–” she started to say, but Oliver interrupted her.

“I don’t have anything to apologize for! Felicity’s not- she’s not my girlfriend, even though I want… Look, this doesn’t even have anything to do with her!” he shouted, not thinking straight. Hadn’t he just resolved to explain, to apologize? But somehow, hearing someone else say it, made his defenses spring up again. He just couldn’t admit weakness to anyone. At least, to anyone but her…

Katie just looked at him sadly and shook her head. “If you truly believe that, you’re even more stupid than I gave you credit for, Oliver,” she said quietly, and closed the door.

Oliver couldn’t help but feel like this was final, like he’d broken something invaluable, and nothing would ever be able to fix it. What was that saying again? You don’t know what you have until you lose it.

Oliver leaned against the opposite wall and slid down until he sat on the ground, holding his head in his hands. He didn’t blame Felicity for not wanting to talk to him. He briefly wondered what she was going to do about the tutoring sessions, since they’d planned one the next day. On the one hand, he hoped she felt obligated enough to at least show up, but on the other, he felt like an even bigger jerk for hoping to force her into talking to him again.

God, how was he ever going to fix this?

/*/

**Felicity POV**

When she’d left her room after grabbing her pea coat and purse, she hadn’t really had a destination in mind, other than _not here._ She knew Oliver would show up at her room sooner rather than later to try and apologize, but she couldn’t stand the thought of seeing him. She might actually forgive him if she looked at him right now.

So, she’d ended up on the far side of the lake, near the fence. No one ever came all the way out here, except maybe a guard to patrol the perimeter, but even that was rare. It was the only place on campus Felicity could think of that would give her some peace and quiet.

Vaguely, she was aware that she didn’t really have a right to be angry. She’d known Oliver had been cheating on Laurel again. She’d even voiced her opinion a few times. She wasn’t his girlfriend, nor his ex, and she’d been aware of his dubious dating history since day one. Hell, she knew most of the girls he cheated with, was completely aware of it happening, and, though she wasn’t happy about it by any means, she hadn’t ever been furious with him. But seeing it and knowing about it are two very different things. And with Erica of all people. She wasn’t sure if he even knew she was a friend of hers.

Probably not. Oliver tended to be a little oblivious about that, and she hadn’t hung out with both Oliver and Erica at the same time. Erica was one of those friends you only hang out with because you see her five days a week. Sure they got along, and they liked working together when they were paired off in physics. She routinely saved Felicity from disaster, seeing as Felicity was tech-girl, not physics-girl. She wasn’t horrible, of course, but Erica was an absolute genius with it.

But Erica was also kind of a flirt. Stephanie, on the other hand, was pretty quiet and easy-going, willing to let Erica take the lead in almost any situation. Of all her friends, Erica was probably the least surprising to have ended up like that.

God, she wanted to hate her so badly, but… once again, she didn’t really have a reason to. Erica had asked Felicity over lunch about her relationship with Oliver, at which point Felicity had said that they were just friends, and that she didn’t want anything more than that. It was a blatant lie, of course, but right now only Katie knew about that, and Felicity desperately wanted to keep it that way. No wonder Erica felt like it wouldn’t be a big deal if she got together with Oliver.

But even though she had no legitimate reason to feel like this, Felicity _did_ still feel hurt and betrayed. Which so wasn’t fair, not to her and definitely not to Oliver, who probably just thought she was an overly emotional idiot right about now. Either that, or he was extremely confused right now and trying to pry the answer out of Katie.

Felicity shivered. It was getting late, and it had been pretty cold already. It was about 50 degrees out, and Felicity wasn’t used to the cold. Only two weeks ago, the temp had dropped below zero. They’d even had snow! Granted, it had melted even before it reached the ground, so it was more like sleet, but still. Before going to Gotham, she’d never seen real snow before, which was kind of pathetic if you thought about it.

Another shiver wracked her body, and Felicity decided it was time to head home. Curfew was in a few hours, and temperatures would drop even lower after the sun set. Reluctantly, Felicity began the trek back to her dorm room, hoping she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew. She didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.

She was lucky in that regard until she reached her hallway. Oliver sat hunched over across from her room. She should have known that he wouldn’t leave until he could talk to her. He was as stubborn as she was.

Felicity steeled herself and walked towards him. When she got nearer, she realized that he was actually asleep. Her expression softened as she crouched next to him. Usually, Oliver looked so peaceful when he slept, in a way that he almost never was when he was awake, but now he was frowning, his breathing uneven.

Softly, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Oliver?” He stirred, but didn’t wake. “Oliver, wake up.”

His eyes shot open and gasped, like he was waking up from a nightmare. “Wha – Felicity?” he panted, eyes finally fixing onto his form.

She didn’t smile as she normally would have, too uncomfortable to even babble right now. “You should go home, Oliver,” she said softly, rising to her feet.

Oliver scrambled up right after her. “Wait, Felicity, let me expl–”

“Explain what?” she interjected, deceptively calm. She sighed and leaned against the opposite wall, suddenly far too tired. “Look, Oliver, you have nothing to explain. I’ve made my opinion about your… relationships pretty clear. And you probably didn’t even know Erica was my friend, and even if you did–” And she’d started babbling again.

Luckily for her, Oliver interrupted her. “Felicity,” he whispered, so quietly she almost thought she’d imagined it.

Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “I have no reason to be angry with you, and you have no reason to apologize. So goodnight, Oliver. I’ll see you at your tutoring session tomorrow,” she said, trying to smile. She was fairly sure it looked more like a grimace, though. She turned around to open her door, but a hand grabbed her wrist. His hold was impossibly gentle for someone who was more than a head taller than her and probably weighed twice as much as her – and none of it fat, either.

“Felicity, please…” he whispered. She wasn’t sure why he was being so quiet. Sure, there were other people in their rooms in this hallway, but none of them were asleep. Or maybe it was in reverence of this moment. Still, she refused to turn around to face him. “I’m sorry,” he said simply.

And that was the drop that burst the dam.

The simplicity of his apology, and the sincerity in his voice. Silent tears started falling again, even though Felicity had been half-convinced that she had no tears left to shed. She brought up her free hand to stifle her sobs, but it did little good.

“I’m sorry,” Oliver whispered again as he drew her into a hug. “I’m sorry.”

It took her a few minutes to regain her composure, and when she did, she figured it’d be best to ignore her little breakdown. “Go home, Oliver,” she managed to say.

This time, he didn’t stop her when she entered her room, and shut the door.

/*/

Inside, the lights were dimmed, and fresh blankets were draped over the couch. Katie sat there, waiting patiently, holding a big tub of Felicity’s favorite Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and offering a sympathetic smile.

“I can call him names all night if that makes you feel better,” the girl suggested as Felicity joined her. In any other case, Felicity might have cried or laughed at that, but she felt far too drained to do more than offer a half-hearted smile. “I can smack him for you.” That elicited a snort. “I mean, not literally, because let’s face it, Oliver could so take me in a fight, but I can probably get someone to do it for me. Or I can just glare at him. Oh! Or I can tell everyone nasty rumors!” Every suggestion was weirder than the last, but they served the purpose that Katie had intended for them: to cheer her up.

Her heart felt like it had been ripped in two, but it was already on the mend. She’d been hurt, yes, but she would survive. Never let anyone say that Felicity Smoak was broken by a guy.

“I love you so much,” she said to Katie.

Katie grinned, maybe a little teary-eyed. “Don’t get al mushy on me, Smoak, I haven’t taken off my mascara.”

It wasn’t funny, but for some reason, it made Felicity laugh. Really laugh.

Yeah. She’d be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I really need to know what you thought of this, so leave a comment!
> 
> Also, anyone with thoughts for one-shots or drabbles for The In-Between Moments, feel free to tell me! I'm currently lacking in inspiration :)


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I'm the most horrible person ever! I can't believe I forgot to update this last week! I absolutely have no excuse, and I hope that you'll forgive me!  
> Next chapter should be up later today (like, probably 10 or 11 hours from now), so you'll be able to read two!  
> Also 451 Kudos?? This fic is fast becoming one of the more popular Olicity fics, and I couldn't be happier!!

** Chapter 24: **

**Oliver POV ~ Sat. 21 February**

 The phone was ringing. God, why was it ringing? Oliver threw out an arm, hoping not to smash anything while he fumbled for his phone. A pillow his foot, so that meant Dean was at least nominally awake.

Finally, Oliver found the damn thing, flipped it open and held it to his ear. “Muh?” he asked, unable to form a coherent thought just yet.

“Dude, what the hell?”

After about a minute, Oliver realized that the voice belonged to Tommy, which meant that the guy was calling him at… He glanced at his alarm clock. It was 1:30 am. “Tommy?” he mumbled. “It’s 1:30 why the hell are you calling?” He kept his voice down, since he was fairly sure Dean had just fallen back asleep.

“I know… Why aren’t you awake, it’s Saturday night? Never mind,” he said before Oliver could answer. “What is this I’m hearing about Laurel?”

Oliver rubbed his eyes and sat up. “ _That’s_ what this is about? Tommy, can’t this wait until morning?”

“Uh, no, because you’re my best friend, and I should not have heard of this from Charlotte.”

Okay, now he was confused. “Who’s Charlotte?”

“She’s this new, really hot chick who’s in the yearbook committee with Laurel. You should see her, Oliver, she’s–”

“Tommy,” Oliver interrupted, perhaps a little irritably. “Does this have a point? Because I’d really like to go back to bed now.”

“Right. So why didn’t you tell me?” Tommy asked.

“That I broke up with Laurel? I don’t know, it didn’t seem important.”

“But why?”

“Tommy, I’m not going to tell you every time–”

“No, not that,” Tommy interrupted impatiently. “Why did you break up with her? I thought she was ‘the one’?”

Oliver could practically hear the air quotes. “She’s not.” Sitting up a little straighter, Oliver rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I love Laurel, but more like a sister than anything else. A friend of mine made me realize that what I was doing to her wasn’t exactly fair,” he explained.

Tommy paused. “Since when do you care about being fair?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Sighing, Oliver lay back down. “I don’t know. I guess I just started to realize that I was a douche, and I… I don’t want to be that guy anymore.”

“Sheesh, taking responsibility? Doing the right thing? Oliver, my friend, I do believe you are growing up,” Tommy said, fake emotion in his voice.

Oliver rolled his eyes. “You should try it sometime, Merlyn, maybe then you’ll finally be able to say goodbye to your Pokémon card collection.”

Tommy gasped. “Do you have any idea how long it took me to put that together? I have some of the rarest card out there!” he said in an insulted tone.

Oliver laughed. “You’re such a dork.” He sighed.” Go to bed, Tommy, I’ll call you in the morning, okay?”

“Oh, fine, be that way. Talk to you tomorrow.” And then he finally hung up. Oliver glanced at his alarm clock. 1:57 am. Oh well, at least he could sleep late tomorrow…

/*/

**Felicity POV**

“Felicity! Wait up!”

Felicity knew that voice, and she knew that she didn’t want to hear anything she had to say, so she just kept on walking, hoping the other girl would take the hint and leave her alone.

Of course, Felicity had never been that lucky, so why should today be any different?

The girl jogged to catch up to her, and Felicity didn’t think she’d make it all the way to the library before that happened, so, reluctantly, she stopped and waited, clutching her books to her chest. “What do you want, Erica?” she asked when the other girl came to a stop next to her.

Erica was blonde, though not in the figurative sense, and fairly pretty, prettier than Felicity considered herself anyway. They had met the year before, when they were paired as lab partners. Erica was a pretty fun-loving party girl, despite what her high grades would have you believe. For the most part, Felicity liked her, even though they rarely hung out outside of class. Right now, though, she wished she could be anywhere else just to avoid talking to the blonde.

“Look, I just wanted to apologize. You’ve been avoiding me for a week, and… I knew you and Ollie were friends, but… I’m sorry, okay?” she said. She looked worried, like she was afraid Felicity would start yelling or something.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Felicity realized she could hardly stay mad at Erica when she’s more or less forgiven Oliver. “It’s fine. It was just… Never mind. And I haven’t been avoiding you, I’m just… busy.”

Erica didn’t look like she believed her, but nodded all the same. “Right. Tutoring, huh?”

“Yeah…”

They stood there a little awkwardly for a minute, until Erica sighed. “This is ridiculous, we’ve been friends for almost two years and now we can’t talk to each other?” she said with a breathy laugh. It was more to break the tension, but Felicity appreciated the effort.

“I know… Hey, have you heard about the security breach?” she asked.

Erica shook her head. “No, what breach?”

“I wouldn’t have heard about it either, but I was talking to our building’s security guard when he got the call. Apparently, someone’s been messing with the outer fence, cutting wires and stuff,” Felicity said.

“Really? Did anyone get in?” Erica asked, sounding a little worried. Erica was the daughter of the governor of Nevada, a man who came from old money, apparently. The whole reason for the tight security around here was because of all the heirs to multi-millionaires living here. Imagine the ransom demand someone could ask for.

“No, but have beefed up security. I was asked not to set off the anti-aircraft detection system anymore,” Felicity replied with a grin.

Laughing, shook her head. “I remember that. Little nobody Felicity Smoak set off the alarms and makes FCA history. That was great, even if every guard pretty much had a heart attack.”

Felicity shrugged, suddenly reminded of the awkwardness of the situation again. “Anyway, I have to go… bye,” she said clumsily, turned around, and headed for the library again. That whole situation had been uncomfortable, but for a second there, Felicity had been able to forget what had happened, and it had felt… nice. But then of course, her brain had reminded her that she’d seen Erica sitting half-naked in Oliver’s bed, and her fight or flight instinct had kicked in. She kept her head down, and tried not to let it get to her.

Of course, this meant that she pushed the library door straight into someone. “Oh my god!” The other person, a student from the looks of it, was on the floor on the other side of the glass door. Felicity quickly eased it open and knelt next to the guy. “I am so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going, which I realize is not a very good excuse. Not that I’m looking for excuses! Or, well, maybe I am, it’s not every day that I push doors into people, and I’m babbling and I’m going to stop in 3, 2… 1.”

The boy smiled at her, and the first thing she noticed were his eyes. They were a really dark brown, almost black, and Felicity had to blink to come back to reality and realize that the guy had said something. “I’m sorry, what?”

He chuckled. “I said don’t worry about it. Though next time you may want to buy you a coffee first,” he said in a really sexy British accent.

Was he flirting with her? While still seated on the floor? Was he _actually_ flirting with _her_? “Uhm,” she said eloquently.

“I’m Nathan, by the way,” he prompted, still smiling. It was a very charming smile.

“Oh, sorry. Felicity,” she said, and held out a hand to pull him up.

“Felicity Smoak? The one who pulled that prank?” he asked.

She narrowed her eyes. “Why do you look so surprised?”

He held up his hands in surrender. “Nothing, I just imagined you differently, that’s all.”

“How different?” she asked, putting her free hand on her hip. Oh god, was she flirting _back_?

He grinned again. “There is no possible way for me to answer that without getting slapped, so I’m going to… how do you say it? Plead the sixth?”

Felicity snorted out a laugh. “The fifth. It’s the fifth amendment that gives you the right to remain silent and not to incriminate yourself,” she explained. And now she felt like a total nerd.

But Nathan kept smiling. “You really are brilliant, aren’t you?” he said softly. A small part of Felicity swooned because hello tall dark and British, but another part couldn’t help but think that Oliver would have been adorably awkward in a situation like this.

“I guess… Uhm. I don’t mean to be rude, but I do need to go,” she said, biting her lip.

“I understand,” he replied easily. “Tell you what. Why don’t we meet up tomorrow at the Starbucks after school, at 4? My treat,” he said, and walked off.

“But I…” Felicity started, but Nathan had already left the building and was out of hearing range. She so didn’t have time for a coffee tomorrow, she needed to finish three more assignments that her teachers had foisted on her. She could just not show up. After all, it’s not like she knew the guy…

/*/

Talking to Erica and Nathan had made her a little late for her tutoring session with Oliver. She was helping him put together a portfolio for his business class, which was hard work, even for her, but she found that she kind of liked it. Maybe if her career as a computer technician/hacker didn’t work out, she could go into the corporate business? Yeah right…

Oliver was already sitting at their regular table, frowning at his cellphone. “You realize that it can’t see you frown, right?” Felicity said. She’d meant to make it sound teasing or sarcastic even, but it came out a lot softer than that. There was still some residual tension between the two of them, and they’d stopped hanging out outside of their tutoring sessions.

Word around campus was that Oliver was off the market for now, and so far he hadn’t been seen so much as talking to another girl – or at least, girls who weren’t in his classes. Felicity thought it was a good thing, and was happy that Laurel had finally managed to convince him to stay truthful to her, but she dreaded the day that he’d get bored again. And she may have been a tiny bit jealous that Laurel was the one who could make him stay loyal.

Oliver looked up, which shook her from her reverie. She couldn’t help but compare his icy blue eyes to Nathan’s dark ones. The contrast was startling, and Felicity found herself wondering why she was even thinking about this. Grinning, Oliver got his backpack off her seat. “I know, it was just something Tommy said about Laurel. I think he might be into her,” he said.

Felicity blinked. “What? You’re not upset?” she asked incredulously, dropping down into the chair.

Now Oliver was frowning again. “Why would I be? Laurel’s free to be with whoever she likes. If Tommy manages to convince her he’s not a complete idiot, I wish them all the best. I did tell him I only loved her like a sister.”

Felicity’s jaw dropped. She’d only just been thinking about his relationship, and now it was over? When did this happen?

Apparently, she’d asked that last bit out loud, because Oliver looked at her strangely. “Four days ago. I told you, I know I did. Katie was standing next to you in the hallway, you were rooting around in your locker, panicking that you couldn’t find your physics book… Any of this right a bell?”

Frowning, Felicity thought back. She could remember the physics book, but… Oh god. She’d still been mad at Oliver, but unwilling to show it, so she’d ignored what he’d said, instead focusing on muttering to herself and making as much noise as her metal locker would allow. He’d told her that he’d broken up with Laurel?

“So anyway, I told Tommy to go for it, but I don’t think Laurel will appreciate it. With me, she thought she could change me, make me better somehow, but Tommy? She’s pretty much convinced he’s the most idiotic person on the planet,” he said with a laugh.

Felicity’s mind was still stuck on ‘he broke up with Laurel’ to hear much of what he was saying. Of course, it didn’t mean anything, but technically, they’d been dating for 6 months – since the beginning of August – and now they were… not. It didn’t change the fact that Felicity didn’t think she could trust him with her heart, but for some reason, that persistent little flame of hope flared up, pushing her to do something. Preferably something involving one Oliver Queen. She firmly squashed it and focused back on her _friend_.

“That’s great,” she said with false cheer. “I’m sure Tommy will be great.”

Oliver grinned. “I just wish I could be there to see it. I bet Laurel’s going to smack him.”

Felicity forced a smile. “We should focus on your portfolio now, Oliver,” she said, pulling his attention back to his assignment.

He sighed. “Whatever you say, princess,” he said, pulled out his folder, and started to work.

Felicity’s heart gave another twinge, but she pushed it aside. She was determined to get over Oliver, so she would. Perhaps she could still squeeze in a coffee date tomorrow…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was pointed out to me that it was about time Oliver and Laurel had their break up. I might write something from her POV in TIBM later.  
> Anyway, tell me what you think!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra long chapter ahead! Consider it a birthday present from me to you! Even though my birthday was yesterday. And I'm actually updating on time! Yay!
> 
> WARNING! Some mention of rape ahead!

**Chapter 25:**

**Oliver POV ~ Sat. 28 February 2003 ~ 5pm**

She was happy.

At least, she looked happy, he didn’t exactly run over to ask. After all, it wasn’t any of his business, right? If Felicity wanted to have a coffee date with Nathan Statham.

At least the guy didn’t have much of a reputation. He was a new senior, just like Oliver, but he hadn’t taken part in the prankings on Halloween, nor was he in any of Oliver’s classes, so he didn’t know the guy all that well. Oh, Oliver’d had the impulse to beat the crap out of him when he saw him with Felicity in the Strabucks, an arms wrapped around her waist, but a couple of the guys from his business class had interrupted, and he’d lost sight of them.

Still. She’d looked happy. And that’s all he wanted for her.

Letty, who had been in almost as bad a mood as him lately, had asked around about Nathan for Oliver. Apparently, his friends said he was a fun guy to hang out with, got reasonably good grades, and came from an old family, who had inherited all their wealth. Letty had also talked to a few of his old girlfriends, but they hadn’t said much.

Right now, Oliver sat of the field near the tennis courts, east of the boy’s dormitory. Felicity was sitting at a picnic table a few yards away, accompanied by Nathan, of course. These days they were hardly ever seen apart. Felicity was reading a book, while Nathan kept distracting her by talking. Oliver clenched his jaw. She hated when you talked if she was reading, that way, she had to split her attention.

He saw Nathan lean forward to kiss her, and Oliver was about to jump up and… something. Okay, so he hadn’t quite figured out what he’d do. But the point was moot, as someone suddenly stepped in his line of sight.

Blinking, he looked up, right into Katie’s face. She’d raised her eyebrows at him. Oliver sighed and looked down at the grass he’d been shredding. He was steadily creating a little circle without vegetation.

“You know you look like a creepy stalker, right?” Katie asked rhetorically, and promptly sat down in front of him.

Seeing as she wasn’t expecting an answer, Oliver kept his eyes on the circle of dirt.

She sighed. “I don’t know why you didn’t just tell her that you love her, before all this mess. It’s obvious to anyone but you, you know.”

Oliver glared at her, but didn’t argue. He’d gotten to know Katie quite well, and knew that it would serve no purpose. “She’s happy,” he said, almost as if he hadn’t been telling himself that for the last week over and over again in his head. It was his mantra now. He focused on the blades of grass again, tearing out a chunk of them.

Rolling her eyes, Katie shoved him lightly. “She loves _you_ , you dimwit.”

“Doesn’t look like it from where I’m sitting,” he said half-heartedly.

“She trying to get over you, and from the looks of it, I’d say it’s working.” She sighed. “Look, I know you still care about her, and while I haven’t exactly been your biggest fan-” Oliver snorted at that. “-I know you make her happy,” she continued, unfazed. “If all you want is for her to be happy, you’d be with her.” She stood up and dusted herself off. “Food for thought.” And then she walked off, towards the happy couple.

Oliver wanted to believe her. But looking at them now, he just couldn’t. Katie claimed that Felicity still loved him, but was slowly getting over him. What was he supposed to do? March over there and kiss her? Much as he wanted to do just that, he knew Felicity well enough that, even if she loved him – which he still doubted – she wouldn’t accept him. Not now. He was trying to be better, he really was. He was getting better grades than ever, he’d broken up with Laurel and had turned down several girls in the meantime. And the best part was that he wasn’t even doing it for her… he was doing it because he wanted to be a better person.

So he’d have to wait, and stand on the sidelines, watching Felicity be happy. Until the day came that she needed him. And he’d be there for her. Always.

/*/

**Katie POV ~ 5:30pm**

“Okay, you guys, if you two don’t stop, I’m going to puke,” Katie said, making a face at Felicity and Nathan. She could totally see what Felicity liked about Nathan – he was, after all, handsome, funny and attentive, he gave her flowers and wrote her corny notes, and he gave her all his attention. But something about him made Katie dislike him. Though that might be because she’d finally developed a soft spot for Oliver. Still, she would never let Felicity know that she didn’t like her new boyfriend, so everything was said with a wink and a smile.

Felicity grinned. “Sorry Katie. But now you know how I feel every time I see you and Cody together.”

Nathan smiled as well, but Katie felt like it didn’t reach his eyes. “She’s right, though, love,” he said, and accentuated it with a kiss to Felicity’s cheek. “I’ve got to run. I’m making a phone call to my mate back home. I’ll see you tonight?” he asked, softly rubbing Felicity’s back.

Felicity blushed and nodded. Something about that struck Katie as weird. Not that Lissa didn’t blush all the time, but it was her timid way of acting that confused her. Katie herself was staying over at Cody’s place, so she hadn’t asked about Lissa’s plans.

She raised an eyebrow at her friend, but she just shrugged and pretended to read in her book. Katie looked over her shoulder at Oliver, only to find him gone. He must’ve left before Nathan had…

“Have you talked to Letty lately? She’s been so angry all the time, and Dylan won’t squeal,” she asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from anything awkward.

Lissa looked up. “Not really. I mean, I’ve seen her around, and we had lunch a few days ago, but that’s it. She hasn’t been angry around me,” she said. Then she grinned. “Maybe it’s just you she’s pissed at. What’d you do?”

Katie rolled her eyes. “It’s not just me, other people have been saying it too. Even Oliver noticed. He asked, but Letty just punched him in the shoulder.”

Felicity frowned. “Really? That doesn’t sound like her…”

“Punching people? Actually, yeah, it kind of does sound like her. Just usually not Oliver. She actually sort of likes him. Most of the time anyway.”

Felicity looked down. “Oh crap. Nathan left his bag here,” she said, picking it up.

Standing up, Katie took it from her. “I’ll run after him. He’s probably headed for the boy’s dorm anyway. You keep studying. I doubt you’ve gotten much done with loverboy all over you.”

She smiled. “Okay, thanks! It’s getting dark anyway, I’m heading back to the dorm. I’ll see you there.”

Katie slung the bag over her shoulder and set off at a jog. She’d been in track for years, but she didn’t like how competitive people were here, so she’d quit. She still loved running, though.

She reached the building soon enough, and was about to enter, when she heard a voice coming from the side. It sounded British, so chances were it was Nathan. She was about to round the corner when she heard part of the conversation and froze.

“Yeah, she’s hot, but completely inexperienced.” There was a pause. He was already on the phone then. “No, it’s been a week, and I’ll be glad to be done with it… Yeah, flowers and everything… What?... Oh, I’m thinking tonight. Her roommate’s out, so we’ll have the place to ourselves.”

The more she heard, the more concerned she got. What the hell was going on?

“Of course she’s going to want to, but even if she doesn’t, I’ll just slip her some of the ‘magic potion’. She’ll be willing then.”

The leer was clear in his voice, and the sound made Katie sick. But what he was saying… He couldn’t mean… could he?

She stumbled away, somehow managing to avoid attracting attention to herself. She was so shocked she could barely walk. You heard about these sort of things on the news, in the papers, but it just didn’t happen to you or your friends, it was impossible. Except, that it wasn’t. It was happening right now.

Katie wasn’t sure how, but she managed to find her footing, and raced back to Felicity. She had to tell her!

In her haste, she wasn’t looking where she was going, and collided with something. Hands shot out to steady her before she could fall on her ass. “Hey, what’s the hurry?” Oliver asked, frowning at her.

She was gasping, and her thoughts were all over the place. She probably wouldn’t make any sense, but she had to say something! “I – Nathan – he – and he said that – oh god, this can’t be happening! I need to – Felicity, she needs to know! He’ll – he can’t! I need to–” she stammered.

“Hey, calm down. What about Felicity?” he asked as he pulled out a tissue. Katie sniffed and suddenly realized that she’d been crying. Or maybe it was just the cold wind. Probably the former, though. “You okay? Try that again.”

Taking a few breaths, Katie managed to get her breath under control. “I just overheard Nathan talking. And he was saying all these things… Oliver, I think… I think he’s going to use date rape drug on her. He said that she’d be willing, but even if she’s not, he’d just give her a little ‘magic potion’. I need to tell Felicity, she needs to know!”

Oliver had gone really still, his face blank. “Make sure she stays in tonight. And don’t tell anyone what you heard.”

“But–” Katie started, but faltered when she saw the look in his eyes. His face might be blank, but those blue eyes had just gone stone cold. A shiver ran down Katie’s spine, and she was really happy she wasn’t Nathan right now. “I’ll make sure she stays in.”

Oliver nodded, and walked off without a word. Katie wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or worried. She put the thought out of her head and walked back to her own room. On her way there, she called Cody to cancel their date, telling him she wasn’t feeling all that well.

She hated lying to him, but Oliver had said not to mention it to anyone. And she believed that he meant it.

“Hey Katie, I see you didn’t find him,” Felicity said once Katie had closed the door behind her.

“Huh?” she asked, confused.

Felicity gestured to her back. “You still have Nathan’s bag. I assume you didn’t find him.”

She looked so unconcerned, and happy. It was strange that Katie had just heard something so awful, and had her whole life turned upside down, but for Felicity, everything was still normal. She was completely untouched by that. Logically, she know that Felicity hadn’t heard, and so she _wouldn’t_ feel any different, but… it was such a horrible discovery that she felt like it should be visible somehow, like Felicity shouldn’t be so happy when something so horrible had been about to happen.

Felicity looked up from her book. “Are you okay? You look kind of pale.”

Katie shook her head. She needed to focus. “I’m not feeling so hot. I cancelled my date with Cody,” she said, making her voice sound a little raspier than usual.

Immediately, Felicity jumped up from her desk. “Really? Is there something I can do? Should I call the nurse? Here, sit down,” she said quickly, pulling out a chair. Lissa was a worrier, and Katie planned on taking full advantage of it tonight.

“Don’t call the nurse, it’s not that bad, but…” She bit her lip for full effect, waiting for her friend to take the bait.

“What? What is it?”

Bingo. “Could you stay with me? I didn’t want to ask Cody, and I feel really awful…”

“Of course!” Lissa replied immediately. “I’ll just text Nathan and tell him I can’t make it tonight.”

Katie smiled, and suggested they both change in their pajamas and watch some Doctor Who reruns. Felicity had raised an eyebrow at that, considering Katie wasn’t such a huge fan of the show – she’d liked it okay, but she was so not buying little tardisses and long weird scarves or anything – but she’d just shrugged and went with it.

Nathan never did answer that text…

/*/

The next morning they woke up to knocking on their door. It was Evie, the girl who’s room was across from theirs. She told them that Nathan had been beaten up and was being held at the infirmary.

Felicity barely stopped to grab her jacket before she was out the door, running. Katie remembered to grab both their shoes and her own jacket, before she followed her friend, dropping her keys and shouting at Evie to lock their door.

They arrived in record time, but the nurse told them that they couldn’t see Nathan. “But I’m his girlfriend. Please?” she pressed.

The nurse smiled sympathetically. “I’m sorry. He asked specifically not to let you in.”

Felicity just stood there, openmouthed, and Katie’s heart went out to her. She couldn’t imagine Cody doing that to her, let alone what it would feel like. “Could I go in, maybe? I just want to wish him well, I’ll only be a minute, I swear.”

The nurse hesitated. “Alright fine. But I’ll be timing you.”

Katie went inside, and quickly spotted the only occupied bed. Nathan was propped up on pillows, his left arm was in a sling and he had a black eye and a split lip. Honestly, she’d thought he would look worse. He frowned at her as she came closer, but didn’t say anything.

“She really liked you, you know. But I know what you were planning, and you deserved far worse than what you got. You are disgusting, and I hope you rot in hell,” she said quietly, turned on her heel, and left.

As she exited the infirmary, she heard the nurse talking to Felicity. “He has a dislocated shoulder and two cracked ribs. He was obviously beaten, but he refuses to say anything. He’s asked for a transfer back to England,” she explained.

Felicity had tears in her eyes. “But why? Why won’t he just say something? And why won’t he talk to me?”

“I’m sorry, dear, I don’t know,” the nurse answered softly.

Katie stepped in and gave Felicity a hug.

She’d wondered the night before if she should be worried or relieved, but all she felt now was relief and sympathy for her friend. She was having her heart broken, and she didn’t even know why.

And she’d never know what Oliver had saved her from…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think?  
> I know some of you wanted Felicity to just be happy with a guy for a little while, but then this idea popped into my head, and I felt like it was too good of an opportunity for character development for Oliver.
> 
> If there is anything else you'd like to see in this fic, please tell me!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's been a really long time, and I really should have updated, I'm sorry. I was really busy, and then I was going through a bit of a rough time, so...
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the chapter. The next one (27) is going to be the big one for this story!

**Chapter 26:**

**Felicity POV ~ 11 April 2003**

March had gone by faster than it had any right to. It was a stupid month anyway. It had started warming up again, but Felicity rarely ventured outside to enjoy it. She knew Letty especially thought that she was being ridiculous, since she’d only been with Nathan for a week, but Katie had only sympathy in her eyes. Having that much time on her hands, Felicity tended to overthink things. Which is how she came to the conclusion that she lacked closure, and that’s why she couldn’t just move on. Maybe if she’d gotten an explanation from Nathan as to why he felt he needed to run all the way back to England to get away from her, she could have just forgotten about him. She just wanted to know _why_.

But she’d learned to push that from her mind. She focused mostly on school work these days, though she still hung out with her friends. Even though Katie had been pretty angry when she’d found out that Felicity had erased their entire collection of romance movies.

“Hey, you still with me?” a voice intruded on her train of thought. Felicity shook her head and realized where she was. Though how she could have forgotten was a mystery, considering the strong odor of hair spray that hung in the air.

“Yeah, I’m here,” she replied to Letty’s question. Letty, Katie and herself were all seated at the salon, having their hair done. The big day had arrived, and everyone was abuzz with excitement.

“I don’t know why I let you two drag me into this, I could have just stayed home,” Felicity said, maybe a little morosely. Well, almost everyone was excited.

Katie rolled her eyes. “It’s prom, Lissa, you can’t _not_ go!” she protested. They’d had that conversation a million times already, and Felicity should really know better by now than to even _try_ to argue with her best friends.

Letty caught her eye in the huge mirror and winked. If it wasn’t for her, Felicity probably wouldn’t go. But as it was, Letty didn’t have a date, so she’d suggested they go stag together, and Felicity didn’t want to let her down.

Feeling uncomfortable, Felicity fiddled with the curlers in her hair, poking and prodding at them, hoping they’d get a little looser. Letty was getting her hair cut a little shorter, but she was leaving it down, and Katie was opting for a completely ‘up’ look, but Felicity had been outvoted, so she’d gotten stuck with half up-half down. “Your ponytails are cute, Lissa, but this is prom, and I’m not having you look like your everyday self,” Katie had objected, and had promptly put her foot down.

Felicity had already had her make-up done, and she had to admit that she looked better than she’d ever had before. She would even be wearing contacts later that night, which was going to be… interesting, to say the least. She’d put them in for the first time two weeks ago, and had been practicing with them ever since, but the act of basically shoving your finger in your eye never got easier. It was just so damn creepy.

Another attendant came up to them and started working on Felicity’s nails, while another girl focused on Letty’s hair. The attendant put a deep red color on her nails, which made Felicity frown. Katie had said that she’d had one of her old dresses reworked so it would fit Felicity, but she wouldn’t say which one it was. Katie’s wardrobe was so big it was hard to keep track. She supposed that’s what happened when you had a fashion designer as one of your dads.

Soon enough, they were ready and made their way back to their room, with Letty tagging along. They only had a little over an hour before the dance officially started, but nobody ever showed up on time anyway. Either way, they’d have to hurry, because their dinner reservations wouldn’t wait for them. But when Katie showed her the dress she’d gotten for her, Felicity really wanted to stall.

“I can’t wear this, it’s far too…” she trailed off, holding the silky fabric in her hands.

“Gorgeous? Sexy?” Letty suggested. She was grinning over the magazine she was pretending to read. She was wearing a gorgeous black and while high-low gown. It hugged all the right curves, and she looked extremely confident.

Katie on the other hand, was wearing a short, dark forest green dress with a sheer overlay that was bound together at the waist in front, and brushed her ankles at the back. Crystals beaded the waistline and reflected the light. “I still can’t wear this…” Felicity said, tracing the beading at the waistline gently. It was so pretty, and she had no doubt it had looked amazing on Katie, but Felicity was a good deal shorter, and the same kind of dresses didn’t always look as good on her, no matter what her best friend claimed.

“Nonsense. It’s a gorgeous dress, and I had it tailored for you, so you should just thank me and put it on,” Katie protested, touching up her mascara in the vanity mirror.

She was officially out of arguments. With a sigh, Felicity slipped into the gorgeous dress and stepped up to the floor length mirror. She couldn’t help her jaw drop and her breath leave her. Without her glasses, and with her hair half pinned up, lips a cherry red, she looked… like someone else entirely. She looked beautiful.

“Oh, don’t tear up, you’ll ruin your make-up,” Katie said gently, walking over and putting an arm around her shoulders. Felicity felt a little chilly because of the bare back, but it was so pretty, she didn’t really care.

“I’m trying,” Felicity breathed. “Katie, I… Thank you…”

Katie smiled. “You’re welcome. You look gorgeous, like I knew you would.”

Felicity threw her arms around her friend’s neck and hugged her tightly. “You know I love you, right?”

“Okay, too much estrogen, we need to go, before Cody dies of old age outside,” Letty interrupted, still grinning.

Katie gaped at the Latina. “Cody is here? Why didn’t you say anything?” she shouted and quickly ran out to the hallway. Letty just rolled her eyes, grabbing a light sweater, and followed suit. Felicity remembered to grab Katie’s purse as well as her own, but decided to forego a sweater. The one time she was wearing a bare backed dress, she wanted to show it off.

When she closed and locked the door behind her, she figured prom might not turn out to be so bad.

/*/

**Oliver POV**

“Relax, Ollie, it’s prom night!”

Oliver looked up at his date. He’d been staring out over the dancing crowd, looking for a certain brunette, and he hadn’t been very attentive towards his date.

Mallory rolled her eyes. “She’s not here yet, Oliver.” Perceptive as always. He was kind of glad he’d asked Mallory to go to prom with him. She was gorgeous, so the pictured would look good, and she wasn’t expecting anything of him. After they’d broken up in November, they’d remained fairly good friends. She’d been angry with him at first, because of Laurel, but she’d gotten over it. She was actually dating someone from her home state now, so she didn’t want to find a proper date.

“I’m not waiting for anyone, Mal,” he replied automatically, though it wouldn’t do any good. Mallory had figured out about his feelings for Felicity after Nathan had entered their lives. She had told him rather dryly that he was pathetic, and then went right back to her lunch. He liked that about her, she basically just rolled with everything.

“Sure you are. And there she is,” Mal said, pointing to the entrance.

A photographer stood at the ready to take pictures of Cody and Katie, followed by Felicity and Letty. He’d known that Felicity wouldn’t have a date of course. Katie still claimed he was a stalker, but he just ignored her most of the time.

Oliver craned his neck to see them better, but the crowd obscured his vision. He could make out Katie well enough, though. Of the three girls, she was by far the tallest, but she didn’t seem to mind, seeing as her boyfriend was still a head taller. Cody played on the basketball team with Dean, so Oliver figured it was like a rule that you had to be over 6 feet to join.

“You want to dance?” he asked Mallory, keeping his eye on Cody, while holding out a hand to his date. He didn’t actually like to dance, but he _was_ fairly good at it, thanks to a dance instructor his mother insisted on.

He could see Mal grinning from the corner of his eye as she took his hand. “I thought you’d never ask. But after this I’m ditching you, I think Christine is about to make a fool of herself in front of her crush, and I’ll need to run interference,” she said easily, following him onto the dance floor. Christine was a rather overly dramatic friend of Mal’s that Oliver was glad he didn’t have to be around very much.

The song had a heavy beat and was louder in the middle of the dance floor. Oliver twirled Mal around and let her set the pace while he kept an eye on Cody and Katie. They were dancing a few feet away from him, and he could just make out Letty’s black curls near the bar, so he figured that’s where Felicity was.

“Mallory!” a girl shouted. Oliver stopped dancing in time to recognize Christine. He rolled his eyes at Mal and slipped away after she nodded at him. Taking Mal to the dance was probably his best idea yet.

Worming his way through the crowd, he gradually made his way over to the other side of the room, trying to get closer to Felicity. They had carefully started hanging out outside of their tutoring sessions, but it somehow felt a little… off. Movie nights were still a thing of the past, but they had an occasional coffee date, and sometimes they stayed late after a tutoring session. Oliver lived for those moments – and yes, he was aware of how sad that sounded.

He found Letty where he’d last spotted her; by the bar, ordering something that was probably not supposed to be alcoholic. She was just turning around with two drinks in her hands when she spotted him. She rolled her eyes at him, but walked over anyway.

“Oliver. Shouldn’t you be hanging out with a ditzy blonde?” she asked, a little venom in her voice. She’d taken to either ignoring him or glaring at him during their flying classes together, but it seemed prom could soften up even Letty.

He grinned at him, more for show than anything else. “My ditzy blonde is dutifully consoling a friend, so I’m free to mingle.”

“And you chose me? I feel so honored,” she said sarcastically. Oliver had a feeling that if she hadn’t been carrying two drinks, she’d have put a hand on her chest dramatically. Speaking of…

“Are you looking to get drunk or do you need to have something in your hands so as not to throttle everyone in here?”

Letty glanced down at her hands. “They’re non-alcoholic, unfortunately, and I’m holding one for–”

“Letty, there you are!”

Oliver turned around at the familiar voice he’d been looking for. And when he did, his mouth fell open. He’d seen Felicity in a beautiful dress at Christmas, but this… the silky fabric was a deep crimson, with a high split up the side. He took a second to admire her leg before letting his gaze trail up the bodice and to the face. She looked so surprised to see him, her deep red lips a perfect ‘o’. For a second he was distracted because her lips weren’t their usual bright fuchsia.

“Oliver,” she breathed.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late, I know, and I'm sorry!  
> Also, if there's anyone out there who knows someone who could do some fanart for this story, I would be incredibly grateful!

**Chapter 27:**

**Oliver POV**

“Oliver,” she breathed. Or, he assumed she did, since he couldn’t understand her over the music.

“You look beautiful,” he said, smiling gently at her. He’d always seen it, of course, but she looked different tonight, almost ethereal, standing out while the rest of the world faded away.

Felicity blushed. “Thanks. I- nice suit,” she said, somewhat faltering.

"How-how've you been?" He asked, also stammering as he tried anything to hold onto this conversation. He could have hit himself, ‘how have you been’? He could have just as well asked about the weather. Why was she the only one who could reduce him to a stuttering fool?

“You saw me the day before yesterday,” Felicity said, grinning.

“Right. Right, yes. I- you look beautiful,” he breathed.

“You said that already…” Felicity said, trailing off.

A new song started to play, even louder than the last, and it was one that Oliver didn’t particularly like. “Do you want to go outside?” he asked.

Felicity frowned. “What? I can’t hear you.”

Oliver pointed to the doors leading outside, and made walking motions with his hand. Felicity nodded. He wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to talk to her about, wasn’t sure what to say, but he knew something had to be said.

He preceded her out the door, where the music wasn’t so overpowering anymore. A few people were leaning against the wall, talking quietly, but they didn’t so much as glance up when Oliver and Felicity exited. They walked in silence for a little while, until they were out of earshot of the other students. Oliver’s mind was racing, he was trying to figure out what to say, but it was proving difficult.

“I- I’m sorry,” he said eventually. Funnily enough, it was completely true. He was sorry. Sorry for hurting her, sorry for being an idiot, sorry for being… himself.

Felicity frowned at him. “What for?” she asked, bewildered.

“Just… sorry. I know I’m not the easiest guy to be friends with, but–”

“Oliver,” she interrupted him with a hand on his arm. They stopped walking. Oliver was vaguely aware that they were all alone now. They’d walked to the back of the building and had been strolling along the outer fence. She sighed. “You have nothing to apologize for. Whatever you did wrong, I’ve already forgiven you. That’s the point of forgiveness, that it’s behind us.” She turned away from him, facing back the way they came. “Look, yes, you’ve screwed up, but you apologized, and you made it right. You’re a good person, Oliver, even if you can’t always see that.”

Oliver looked down. “How do you know?” he whispered. He didn’t understand how she could still have that kind of confidence in him. But he did know that he could be himself around her, and that he didn’t have to be embarrassed to ask her why. Tommy, while he was still Oliver’s best friend, wasn’t the same. He would be weirded out if Oliver asked him a question like that.

Turning back around, Felicity looked at him. He felt like she could see into his soul. “You really don’t know, do you?” she whispered. It was dark now, the only lights nearby were the security lights on the fence, and the sounds of the party had faded away a while ago. It felt like they were the only ones for miles around. She took a step closer, so that there were only a few inches between them now. Her hand came up to cup his cheek, and Oliver could feel himself leaning into the touch.

“Let me tell you about my best friend,” she said in a quiet voice. “He’s kind, and fiercely loyal. He can be funny when he’s not trying to be. He cares about people as a whole, not just individuals. He feels everything so deeply, but he tries to hide it. He pretends to be very confident, and wears a mask to hide who he really is from the rest of the world. But I know who he is. And you, Oliver Queen, do not–”

Suddenly, the lights went off. It startled the two of them enough that they jumped apart, looking around in the darkness. The moon was waning and not affording them a lot of light to see by, but it was enough for Oliver to make out Felicity’s silhouette. “What happened?” he asked, squinting at the fence. He could still see the glow of the lights from the party, but all the security lights had been cut off.

“I don’t know,” Felicity said. “Those lights run on separate circuits and have their own generator, so unless someone shut them off, they shouldn’t be going out…” she mused. Oliver held out a hand and found her shoulder. Reaching up, Felicity took his hand in hers.

He took a few hesitant steps back the way they’d come, but the lack of light made it difficult. “I think we should–”

He was cut off by Felicity’s scream as her hand was ripped out of his. Oliver twisted around, catching a glimpse of several unfamiliar silhouettes, before pain erupted at the back of his head and the world went truly dark…

/*/

**Felicity POV**

It was dark. She could smell something musty that she could bear to think about. _This floor is cold_ , she thought randomly as she slowly woke up. Felicity tried sitting up and assess the situation, but a little headache made her wince. Luckily, she thought she was okay besides that and a slight burning sensation around her nose. Or as okay as she could be, given the situation. She remembered the lights going out, and there were men…

A small line of light shone out from under the door, illuminating the empty room. Well.  Almost empty. She noticed a younger girl sobbing in the corner first, a skinny boy had his arm around her, trying to console her. They’d taken more than just her, it seemed.

“What happened?” Felicity asked, her voice heavy with sleep. Or was that unconsciousness? It sounded weird in her head, but she could live with that. Heavy with unconsciousness it was.

The boy looked up. “Felicity?” he asked with an accent.

She knew that voice. “Wait… You’re Cassim, aren’t you? The boy from Oliver’s flying class?” She’d spoken to him only a handful of times, and they didn’t run in the same circles, but there weren’t a lot of kids with that kind of accent at their school, and even less who would know her name.

Cassim nodded once. “Are you alright?” the soft-spoken boy asked, not leaving the girl’s side.

“I’m fine. Where are we?” she asked, looking around. The room was empty except for them, as she’d noticed before, with only a door and no windows. The floor was concrete, she thought. Then her eyes saw another form slumped over a few feet away. “Oliver!”

Scrambling over, she turned him onto his back. He had a black eye and when she ran her fingers over his scalp, she could feel a bump. They’d probably knocked him out.

“I don’t know,” Cassim answered. Felicity had almost forgotten that he was there. “They took me when I returned to my dorm room. They put a cloth over my mouth, I think it must have been chloroform.”

She looked up at him. “How do you figure?” They definitely hadn’t bothered with chloroform with Oliver.

“I recognized the smell. And my skin is irritated around my nose and mouth.”

“How do you…?” she stared asking, but then the answer came to her. “This isn’t the first time you’ve been kidnapped?”

It was more of a statement than a question, but Cassim nodded all the same. “It’s why my father wanted me to go to school here in the US. He thought I’d be safer here.”

“That’s awful. I’m so sorry, Cassim. But… I don’t want to be rude, but… you seem so calm.” The girl he’d been consoling had stopped sobbing, but kept her head down on her knees, and her arms wrapped around them tightly. Felicity didn’t know her, but she would guess that she was a sophomore or freshman.

Cassim shrugged. “They haven’t harmed us, we’re not shackled. I’d guess they only want money, and intend to let us go afterwards.”

Dread settled into Felicity’s chest. Maybe Oliver and Cassim’s parents would pay for them, but Felicity’s mother didn’t have the means. They could barely afford to have the lights on after midnight, let alone pay a fortune in ransom. Felicity hadn’t been carrying a purse when she and Oliver had gone outside, so they must not have known who she was. If they found out…

Oliver chose that moment to wake up, thankfully providing the brunette with something else to think about.

“Whatever I drank last night, never let me near it again,” he moaned as he rolled over.

Felicity sighed in relief. She’d been afraid that he would never wake up. “Hey, it’s okay, take it easy,” she said, helping him up.

“Felicity?” he asked groggily. “Where are we?”

She shrugged. “No clue. Cassim thinks we’ve been taken for ransom,” she said, worry still clawing at her insides. But she shoved it aside, she would worry about that when the time came.

Oliver’s face darkened. “They only took you because you were with me,” he whispered, mostly to himself, she thought.

Shaking her head, she inched closer. “No, Oliver, don’t do this to yourself. They took me because I was outside and within their reach. Cassim was grabbed outside too.”

The boy in question nodded, but didn’t reply. Oliver didn’t argue, but his lips were pressed in a thin line, and Felicity knew he still blamed himself.

After a few seconds of everyone taking in what had been said, Oliver shifted. “What about you?” he asked in a soft voice. Felicity was confused for a second, until she realized that he was talking to the other girl.

She raised her head, but, while she looked vaguely familiar, Felicity couldn’t place her face. The girl’s puffy red eyes looked to Oliver in confusion and wariness, like she wasn’t sure who he was talking to, or why. But Oliver just smiled gently at the girl. It was times like these that Felicity remembered how good he was with his own sister.

“I… I snuck outside,” she whispered. Felicity had to strain to hear her, despite the complete silence in the room. “I wanted to see my sister in her dress… Sh- she told me I was being silly, and that I should go to sleep. I don’t remember anything after that.”

Something about that reminded Felicity of something… she tried to chase the thought, but her brain was being difficult, possibly due to chloroform inhalation. It was something a friend had said… Not Katie or Lessa… “Erica.”

“What?” Oliver asked, confused.

Felicity hadn’t even realized she’d been thinking out loud. “Erica said something to me, months ago. Someone had been found on campus. And even before that, I remember the guards discussing perimeter breaches… I think they’ve been planning this a long time,” she said, getting more worried by the minute.

“They would have had to,” Cassim said softly. “I remember my father going over the security measures with the vice-principal, they were… extensive.”

“They have to be,” Oliver said. “They have a school full of kids of the most important and wealthy people in the world, all bunched together. Kidnap even just a few of us, and you have the best leverage in the world.”

Oliver was right, of course, but it did nothing to alleviate the dread in Felicity.

A loud clanging outside their door startled all of them, and the girl whimpered, burying her face in Cassim’s shoulder. Felicity didn’t even know her name.

They all inched back as the door opened, and squinted at the sudden increase in light. A man was framed in the door opening, but Felicity couldn’t make out anything about him, because she was still being blinded by the light. “Well, well, well. All awake, I see,” he said in a deep voice. He had a faint southern accent, and was about 6 foot 2 or 3. Felicity filed these details away for future reference. “Good. Now, first things first. You.” He pointed to Felicity, and only now did she see the gun in his hand. She randomly noticed that it was a revolver. “What’s your name, girlie?”

Bile rose in Felicity’s throat. This was it. She was going to die now…


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're in the final stretch! At last! Only a few more chapters and this baby will be officially done! I'm so excited!

**Chapter 28:**

**Felicity POV**

“Just hell him your name, _Katie_ ,” Oliver said urgently, inching closer as if to shield her.

Katie, of course. “I- Katie- Katherine McMillan,” Felicity stammered, her heart in her throat. What if the man didn’t believe her? What if he wanted proof? What if he killed her anyway?

The man regarded her for a moment, before he grunted, apparently accepting her lie. “You two, with me,” he said, gesturing with the gun for Cassim and the girl.

Felicity wanted to protest as fear rose in her chest again. What were they planning? Where would he take them? But an almost imperceptible shake of Cassim’s head shut her up. Oliver apparently didn’t notice the exchange.

“What are you going to do?” he asked angrily, getting to his feet. Before Felicity could even think to warn him, Oliver was on the ground, a nasty gash above his eyebrow where the butt of the gun had hit him.

“Open your mouth unasked one more time and it’ll be the other end of the gun you’re dealing with,” the man threatened in a low voice.

As Cassim and the girl – who had started shaking and sniffling again – followed the man out, Felicity crawled over to Oliver. “Let me see,” she breathed, making sure that the light that came from under the door shone directly at his injury. It wasn’t as bad as it had first appeared, but it was bleeding a lot. “I need to stop the bleeding. I don’t suppose you have a handkerchief, do you?”

Oliver sat up and shrugged out of his jacket. That would do. As she balled up the fabric and held it to his head, he lay back down and closed his eyes, a gesture so unlike Oliver she was seriously beginning to worry about a concussion. Unfortunately, she had no way of checking his pupils, so she’d have to try the verbal checks. “Can you tell me your name?” she asked. It seemed like such a silly thing to do, but she knew that if he couldn’t answer that question something was seriously wrong.

“It’s Oliver. And I’ve been checked enough to know that you’re looking for a concussion,” he said, opening his eyes again and looking at her. “I don’t have one.”

“Would you let me determine that?” she said testily. She was worried and terrified, and she so had the right to be testy right about now.

Oliver managed a small smile and closed his eyes again. “Hey, stay with me!” she urged, gently shaking his shoulder.

Slowly, Oliver opened his eyes again. Felicity let out a sigh of relief. Strange sleeping patterns were one of the signs. “My name is Oliver Jonas Queen, I’m 17, and I’m a senior at FCA. What more do you want to know?” Oliver asked.

A smile tugged at Felicity’s lips. “Jonas, really?”

He managed to glare at her. “Yes, what’s wrong with it?” he asked, irritated. The smile dropped off Felicity’s face; mood swings were another. Did this count as a mood swing?

“Nothing, I like it,” she said quickly. She really did like it, though.

“What’s yours?” he asked after a beat of silence. His eyes were drooping again, and he didn’t seem irritated anymore. Yeah, reason enough to be worried.

“Meghan,” she said.

“Pretty,” he mumbled, falling asleep again.

“Oliver! Stay with me, please, I don’t want to be alone here,” she whispered. With the greatest effort, Oliver opened his eyes again.

“So… What were you really going to say to me? Out there by the fence?” she asked, hoping to keep him going. She was sure he had a concussion now, but she still needed to assess the damage.

“Out where?” he asked, confused.

“By the fence? We were at prom, remember? You said you wanted to talk, so went outside…” she trailed off. If he couldn’t remember that, something was wrong.

“Right…” It took Oliver so long to continue that Felicity was afraid he’d forgotten she’d posed the question at all – another thing to watch out for with concussed people. She was about to ask again when he finally said something. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

Felicity sighed. “You said that already, twice actually, and–”

“No,” Oliver interrupted. “Not just your dress, _you_ are beautiful,” he murmured.

This was ridiculous. Oliver had a head injury, they were captured by criminals and stuck in a sealed room, while their friends were _somewhere_ , doing who knows what, and yet… And yet. The moment, _this_ moment, felt incredibly intimate. Felicity could feel her heartbeat speeding up as his breath ghosted over her face. When had he gotten so close? Had _she_ leaned in? What…?

Oliver traced his fingertips over her cheek, trailing over to her ear, and eventually down her neck. She shivered. This couldn’t possibly be happening, not now. He cupped her neck, and suddenly, she could see what was going to happen. She saw every flutter of eyelashes, every inch leaned in, every gasp of breath. And then it didn’t matter that they were kidnapped, or that she might not survive the night, because Oliver’s lips were on hers, and every stray thought she could possibly have went out the window.

She couldn’t remember who had moved first, or if they’d move together, she could only feel his warm lips beneath hers, as her hair curtained around them. Oliver’s hand was on her neck, holding her close. Felicity’s own hand had found purchase over his heart, feeling it’s rhythm beneath her fingertips, while the other cupped his cheek.

He tasted of chocolate and alcohol, and something salty she couldn’t quite name. His tongue begged entry, and, against her better judgement, she let him in.

She should really have stopped the kiss there, this was _Oliver_ for Christ’s sake, but then again, this was _Oliver,_ and she’d had feelings for him for so long, and she was tired of pretending she didn’t care.

When they finally pulled back due to lack of air, Felicity kept her eyes closed. She couldn’t bear it if this was another of her fevered dreams, another fantasy chased away by daylight.

But reality intruded again when footsteps approached the door. Oliver was frowning, and he looked confused. Not good.

Light poured in, blinding her temporarily as the man stood silhouetted in the doorway. A lump formed in Felicity's throat as fear clawed at her insides. Where were Cassim and the girl? What had they done to them? She kept her mouth closed, however, remembering Cassim's words.

The man trained the gun on her. "Up, both of you."

Silently, Felicity complied, but when she saw Oliver sway and hold his still-bleeding head, she had to say something. "He has a concussion, he needs help!" She protested, grabbing Oliver's arm to keep him from keeling over. The man grunted and stepped forward, grabbing Oliver by the scruff of his neck. Oliver didn't say a word, and looked pale. Felicity's worry for him was starting to overshadow her fear of her kidnappers.

The man marched them down a hallway, left turn, second right, first door on the left. Again, Felicity filed away this information in her mind.

When they arrived at the room, Felicity was surprised to see that it was well lit, and while there was another man with a semi-automatic, Cassim and the other girl were there, unharmed. They sat on plastic chairs on the side of the room, their hands bound with zip ties.

“Sit,” the man ordered. Oliver and Felicity took a seat at the only table in the room. There was a cell phone in front of them, a burner phone, most likely.

Felicity was about to ask what they were supposed to do when the other man took Cassim and the girl back out the only door. “Where are you taking them?” she wanted to know.

The man cocked his gun and held it against her head. “Stop asking questions and maybe I won’t shoot you in the head, deal?” Felicity sat there, frozen, her heart beating loudly in her ears. “And before you get any ideas, I don’t need you. The others are worth more than enough.”

Oh God. Felicity closed her eyes, feeling a tear escape from behind her lids. If she was worth only this to them while they still thought her parents were rich, what would they do once they figured out her mom couldn’t even pay their rent most of the time? If they weren’t going to get rescued soon, she would die here.

“Don’t- don’t touch her,” Oliver said, weakly. Felicity’s eyes flew open and landed on her friend. He was even paler, and he looked like he was about to throw up right then and there, but he still found the energy to glare at the man with the gun.

The man smirked, but put the safety back on his gun and walked to the other side of the table. “Pick up the phone,” he said to Felicity. She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears and did what he asked. “Now, you’re going to call your mommy and daddy and read that to them,” he said, pointing to a piece of paper that was on the table in front of her.

Felicity glanced down. It was a ransom demand. Her hands trembled as she struggled to recall Katie’s home number. She couldn’t remember. Panic flooded her mind and made it harder for her to think. Oh God, she couldn’t–

But there was another number she knew by heart. She dialed the number and waited for the other person to pick up. “Hello? Who is this?” Katie said when she picked up.

Hearing her best friend’s voice was almost enough to take her breath away. Felicity was crying again, but she didn’t care. “Dad? It’s Katie,” she said, hoping her friend would catch up on what was happening.

A beat of silence on the other side. “Keep talking Liss, the feds are here.”

“Put it on speaker,” the man said, narrowing his eyes at Felicity. She hesitated, and he cocked his gun again, but aimed it at Oliver this time. “Now!”

“Okay, okay, I’m putting it on speaker,” she said, hoping Katie had heard.

“Now read the note,” the man ordered, keeping his gun trained on Oliver. Oliver still looked sick, but at least he wasn’t tilting over, and was still glaring at the man.

“If you want to see me a – alive again…” Felicity stammered, trying to keep her tears at bay, but it was getting harder and harder. She cleared her throat. “You will put 3 m – million dollar in a black bag and take it to the Bellagio fountains in two days at 3 pm. You will receive further instructions there. Do not involve the police or they will…” She couldn’t say it. But she knew she had to. “Or they will kill one of us.”

Biting back a sob, Felicity tried to focus on Oliver instead. He was still incredibly pale, but at least he seemed to be able to keep his focus on the here and the now. Maybe the concussion wasn’t as bad as she’d thought.

A sob could be heard from the other side of the line – Katie probably. But before she could say anything, the man leaned over and ended the call.

“Your turn,” he said gruffly, sliding the phone over to Oliver.

Biting her lip, Felicity watched as her friend managed to pick up the phone. His hands were shaking, and he was still pale, but there was a steely determination in his eyes that made her worry that he was going to do something stupid. Under the table, so the man couldn’t see, she put her hand on his and shook her head slightly.

Oliver clenched his teeth, but dialed his parents’ number and put on the speaker. It only rang once before it was picked up. “Oliver? Oliver, sweetheart, is that you?” his mother’s frantic voice came from the cell.

Oliver held his head and had his eyes screwed shut. Something was wrong. “He can’t do this, he’s got a concussion,” Felicity protested in a low voice.

“Oliver?” Mrs. Queen asked, sounding close to tears, however strange that was to imagine.

The man clenched his jaw and cocked the gun, pointing it squarely at Felicity’s head. “No funny business,” he ground out, gesturing to the phone.

Felicity hastily nodded and focused her attention on the mobile phone. “Mrs. Queen? It’s Katie McMillan, Oliver’s okay, but he has a concussion, he can’t come to the phone.”

Mrs. Queen made a strangled sort of noise, and there was rustling on the other end. “This is Robert Queen, go ahead.” Oliver’s father’s voice was deep, and though it was steadier than Moira’s voice, there was a slight tremor in it.

Felicity repeated the instructions she’d given Katie. She even managed not to start crying again. As soon as she’d finished speaking, the man hung up the phone and pocketed it.

Now all they could do was wait, and hope that help was coming. But something told Felicity that they were on their own…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE FINALLY HAD A KISS! And it only took me 28 chapters to get there... Talk about slow burn, right?


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry. I had the mother of all writer's block, and it sucked. Majorly. I just could not get this chapter to work, so I'm aware it's not my best work. Though prepare for a few tears at the end.
> 
> It's a bit of a short chapter, but I felt like it was done. I just didn't need anything more to round it off.
> 
> I think there's only one more chapter in this story. I've written everything that I had planned, and now it's time to say goodbye. And jump ahead about 10 years ;) yes, I'm going straight to Oliver coming back from the island, though I had planned a few one-shots for TIBM that would take place between the two stories.

**Chapter 29:**

**Felicity POV ~ 12 April 2003**

The first thing they noticed was the noise. A loud crash, footsteps running all through the building. Felicity would have gotten up to investigate, but Oliver’s head was currently pillowed on her lap, so she couldn’t move.

Cassim, noticing her predicament, urged the other girl – Ashley was her name – to sit with her, while he went to the door to see if he could figure out what was going on.

“Can you hear anything?” Felicity asked in a whisper.

Cassim opened his mouth to answer, when suddenly, the door was ripped open. A man stood there, glaring at them. It was the same guy who had made them all call home to ask for the ransom – and he looked furious.

“Up, all of you!” he shouted, grabbing Cassim’s shoulder roughly. The girl shrunk back into Felicity’s side, terrified.

“Oliver can’t walk!” Felicity protested, putting a protective hand on his chest.

The man growled and stepped forward menacingly. Ashley let out a shriek and darted around the guy, into Cassim’s arms. Cassim grabbed her, mouthed ‘sorry’ to Felicity, and silently took off through the open door. The man didn’t even notice.

Felicity was relieved that at least some of them would get out of this relatively unscathed, so she didn’t blame him one bit. Even so, she was terrified thinking about what the man would do to her and Oliver.

The man turned around, his eyes darting over to the open door. He snarled and lunged for Felicity, who stood there, frozen. She closed her eyes, expecting pain… but it never came.

When she cracked open an eye, she saw that Oliver had grabbed onto his boot and that the man was now face down on the ground, blood gushing from his nose. “Oliver!” She scrambled over to him, trying to get him to stand up before their captor could retaliate, but it was too late…

/*/

**Eve POV ~ elsewhere in the building**

Captain Eve Baird was no stranger hostage situations, though she had never had this many rich and influential people breathing down her neck before. These kids were of the utmost importance, seeing as if one of them got killed, it could start World War III. She was the team leader of the SWAT team currently breaching the suspected location of the teens, and it wasn’t looking good.

Their enemy had been tipped off about their presence as soon as they’d busted through the door, but the building was a maze of corridors, and the kids could be in any number of the rooms. They’d taken down at least half a dozen, well-armed men already, and they still hadn’t located the hostages. If this cat-and-mouse game went on for much longer, the chance of a happy ending was slim to none. They _needed_ to find those kids.

Captain Baird focused on her breathing, and motioned for the two Shields to advance into the next corridor. The Point suddenly raised his gun, before pointing it at the floor just as quickly. “Cap, two children, unarmed, they match the descriptions of the hostages, sir,” he said, keeping his eyes on the children.

She made her way through her men and eyed the children. Cassim al-Hammid Kader and Ashley Hall. But where were the others? She asked the children as much. The boy looked away, and the girl started crying.

“We managed to slip away,” the boy answered with a distinctive Arabian lilt. “Felicity and Oliver are still there.”

Captain Baird nodded, managed to extract directions from the boy and then sent him and the girl outside, guarded by four of her men. At least she had a specific destination now. She signaled the men to move out, and raised her P-90. They were going to get this son of a bitch, no matter where he hid.

It took them approximately 4 minutes to get to the room Cassim had indicated, but what she saw there was not what she had expected. For one, it didn’t look like a cell. Oh, the light bulb had been removed and there were no windows, but there was no indication that the children had been bound, or that any other measures had been taken to prevent them from escaping.

For another, she expected the teens to be either in the room - dead or alive, she thought grimly - and tied up, or gone, perhaps taken elsewhere. But the two other kids - Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak - were there; the boy on the ground, conscious, and the girl held by a man at gunpoint. Shit.

"Put the gun down. The facility is surrounded and your accomplices are either dead or in custody," she said calmly. She really hoped she could resolve this situation peacefully. If not... She'd been told that the Queen kid was her priority, but captain Baird refused to believe that the girl's life was worth less just because her mother was a waitress as opposed to a billionaire.

"Stay back!" the man yelled, pressing his gun closer to the girl's head. Eve could see that the safety was off, and the guy looked pretty trigger happy. Not good.

She held up her hands in the universal gesture of surrender, and clicked loose her P-90. As she put it on the floor, she eyed the girl. "Felicity, are you alright?" she asked.

The girl looked terrified - and rightly so - but nodded anyway. "Oliver has a concussion, he needs help, she said quickly.

"Shut up!" the man shouted, shaking the girl. Eve looked down at the Queen boy. He was pale, and hadn't moved from his spot on the floor - a bad sign in a fit teenager - his eyes riveted on Felicity. Eve couldn't be sure, but she had the feeling the girl was right about that concussion. "My name's captain Eve Baird," she said calmly to the man. "What do I call you?" Behind her back, she motioned for a few of her men to step outside. They'd set up a perimeter and contact their commander, while Eve and two of her men stayed in the room.

"None of your business, _blondie_ ," he snarled, edging backwards.

Eve assessed her situation. Obviously, this guy wasn't going to cooperate any time soon. "Okay. I understand. But I need you to tell me what it is you want. You know we can't let you go, and you're definitely not getting out of here with the two of them."

"I got two hostages, I can always shoot one of 'em to show you I'm serious," he spat.

Felicity paled, but, to her credit, she didn't flinch. Brave girl. "You know as well as I do that if you shoot that girl you'd have a bullet in your head before you could even think about the boy, and vice versa. Lance here's my best marksman," Eve replied calmly, nodding her head at the man on her right.

The man did not look impressed. This situation was looking grimmer by the minute. If he ducked behind Felicity and shot Oliver instead… there was a good chance they wouldn’t be able to take him out in time.

Movement drew Eve’s eye, and when she saw it she had to struggle not to narrow her eyes in concern. Felicity was mouthing something. ‘Shoot.’ She then subtly held up 3 fingers. Eve glanced sharply at Lance. He’d seen. Good. They would only get one shot at this.

Two fingers. Eve tensed.

/*/

**Felicity POV**

He was so still. Only the barest movement of his chest letting her know that he was alive. He was facing the other wall, and hadn’t heard her enter, and she was about to speak up when something made her pause. There was a sort of stillness in the air, a tension she felt unwilling to break just yet. She wouldn’t call it silence, because a hospital could never be called quiet.

They had put into an ambulance after Captain Baird got them out of the building, but had been separated the moment they got there. Oliver had finally passed out on the way there, and they’d been doing tests all… morning, she supposed it was.

Felicity was supposed to be talking to a psychologist, but she’d snuck out to find Oliver. She needed to see that he was alright.

He was laying on a bed in his own private room – of course – facing the window, while an IV dripped fluid back into his veins. He was okay. Or he was going to be, at any rate. They both were. Unbidden, a relieved sigh escaped her lips, and Oliver turned around.

“Felicity,” he said, sounding mildly surprised.

She smiled at him and stepped up to the bed. “Hey, you okay? Well, obviously you’re not okay, I mean, you’re in a hospital bed, and you still look pretty bad – not that you’re bad-looking in general, just right this second. Which is totally not your fault, of course, and I’m going to stop talking in three, two, one,” she babbled.

Oliver grinned. “Yeah, that was some pretty heavy stuff, right? They told me we were gone for almost two days,” he said, his voice a little hoarse.

Automatically, Felicity filled the cup that was on his nightstand and handed it over, careful not to jostle any wires or needles. She was so glad she didn’t have to have any of those stuck in her. Needles, that was. “Wait… They told you?” That was a weird way to phrase it. Felicity had been perfectly aware of how long their kidnapping had lasted, had even talked about it briefly with Cassim.

Oliver took a few big gulps before handing the cup back over. “Yeah, it’s all a bit fuzzy. I remember waking up in that room, and you making that phone call for me, and then… I don’t know. Something about Cassim and… then a gun? I can’t really remember.”

Felicity’s heart sank. “You… nothing? You don’t remember anything else.”

Grimacing, Oliver glanced to the ceiling – something he often did when trying to remember something. “I think I may have babbled some nonsense, but… no, not really. Why?”

She would not cry. She refused. Biting back tears, she took a step back. “No reason, just… stuff. Uhm, I just wanted to check on you, make sure you were–”

Felicity was interrupted when the door opened. A nurse walked in, followed by Moira and Robert Queen, and a tearful Thea. Moira rushed over to the bed and put a hand on her son’s face, while Thea jumped up on the bed and Robert just grinned, looking a bit misty-eyed himself. “I should…” Felicity whispered, but was already forgotten about. And my, did that sting.

Quietly, she left the room and mechanically made her way to the main waiting area. He’d forgotten. It wasn’t unheard of that people with a bad concussion suffered from temporary amnesia, especially in such traumatic circumstances, the logical part of her brain supplied. Mentally, Felicity shoved that thought as violently as she could to the back of her mind.

She’d finally kissed Oliver Queen, and now he didn’t remember… God, what a cliché. And how typical that this had to happen to her, of all people.

Sinking down into one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, she sat there, dazed. How could this be happening? When she’d finally kissed him, it had felt like the entire year had been leading up to that, and now… And now her heart was breaking. Again. She wasn’t sure how much more abuse her poor heart could take.

“Felicity?” A frantic voice intruded on Felicity’s thoughts, and suddenly, the worried face of Donna Smoak hovered in front of her. “Oh, my baby,” she whispered, and pulled her daughter into a hug, even though it had to be uncomfortable to crouch in a dress that tight and heels that high.

And with that, with a hug from her mother, the dam burst, and Felicity let her tears go. She clung to her mom, hoping that she would feel safer, that she would feel loved, encircled in the arms of the woman who raised her.

All her mother did was hold her and stroke her head, and Felicity felt like she was a little girl again, and all the world’s troubles could be chased away by her mommy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, I need suggestions for a name for the sequel. Any ideas? I'd prefer if it came from a quote, since that's been a bit of a thing in this series. So send me your favorite quotes.
> 
> I know I've said this, but I can't stress enough how much I appreciate every single review that you wonderful people have left for me. Your words have helped me through some rough patches, and make me feel appreciated every single time. You are wonderful. And I love you all.
> 
> Oh! I entered this fic in Inkitt's Fandom contest, so feel free to leave me a heart there! inkitt (dot) com (slash) stories/ 35240


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, so I lied, and there's anohter chapter before the epilogue. I just really didn't know how to end this, and I know a lot of you were hoping for a happy end, but that's what the sequel is for, right? Right.
> 
> Anyway, I haven't decided on a title for the sequel yet (suggestions still welcome), but I'll put it in the epilogue when I put that up. Which should be next week or so. I promise it won't take me this long again!

**Oliver POV**

The whole party was Tommy’s idea. His way of getting his friend back out there. Oliver was okay with it, of course, but he would have enjoyed a quiet evening in just as much. As it was, every teen in Starling City with a trust fund was there – and some that didn’t, of course – and some of his friends from FCA. Dean and Tommy got on far too well, for Oliver’s tastes. At the moment, they were discussing the merits of different cocktails versus straight up alcohol like vodka.

Oliver had already mingled a bit – and avoided a few girls that he _so_ didn’t want to be near – and had managed to find Mallory. She’d felt a little guilty after what happened at prom, since she didn’t notice he was gone until security sent everyone to their dorms. Oliver had reassured her that it wasn’t her fault, of course, but the blonde had said that she felt like she owed him a favor. “My friend Julie wanted to know if she could have your number. I told her you were taken,” she was saying. “But then I heard from Rich that you’re somehow engaged and about to be a dad, so I guess that story took on a life of its own. Sorry.” She seemed more amused than apologetic, but since that kind of a story was hardly unheard of, that was understandable. Annoying, but understandable. “Oh, hey, there’s your crush!” she said with mock enthusiasm.

Oliver grimaced at her choice of words, but looked over anyway. It was Felicity.

Seeing her surrounded by Starling’s trust fund babies was a bit of an eye-opener. She looked beautiful, of course, but… she was wearing a white dress that reached her knees, white flats and gold jewelry. Compared to her surroundings, she looked like the epitome of innocence. The contrast was bad enough for him, but his guests were noticing as well.

A brunette girl he was fairly sure he’d dated last year looked Felicity up and down and scoffed. She said something to her, and Oliver was certain it wasn’t anything nice. Katie intervened and the girl backed off.

Oliver suddenly realized that Felicity would never fit into this world. And Oliver found that he didn’t want her to. At FCA, she could stand her ground, she had her own place there, but here? They’d tear her apart. Or they’d turn her into one of them, and she wouldn’t be Felicity anymore.

He should never have invited her.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Go get her, Romeo,” Mallory said, giving him a little shove.

The movement caught Katie’s eye, and she elbowed Felicity, pointing at him. Even Felicity’s smile couldn’t lighten his mood. He could admit to himself that he loved her, more than he’d ever loved anyone, but… he wasn’t right for her, all he’d do was hurt her, or drag her down to his level. But he knew Felicity. He knew that as long as he was in her life, she wouldn’t give up on him.

So he had to make sure he wasn’t…

/*/

**Felicity POV**

She’d like to say that everything turned out alright. That Oliver remembered what had happened, or that Felicity’d had the guts to tell him how she felt. That they went on an amazing date and that Oliver was the perfect boyfriend.

She’d be lying.

That moment in the hospital was when everything started to crumble down.

She got a scar, though. Everything she went through, and all that was left was a scar on the side of her left wrist. Still, she was glad for the visual reminder. It made it more real somehow.

She’d talked to Cassim and Ashley in the hospital, after she’d composed herself somewhat. Turns out the FBI had found them because Cassim’s dad had insisted that he get a subcutaneous tracker after his last abduction. It was kind of messed up in her opinion. Fortunately, they were all alright. Ashley was particularly traumatized, and had stuck to Cassim like a burr, refusing to leave his side. Luckily, Cassim seemed to have no problem with that.

Katie had come by, too. She wasn’t really supposed to, but she’d bribed a nurse. With really good food and a coupon for White House|Black Market, not the illegal, money kind of bribe. She was great. She had held Felicity and hadn’t complained when her friend had ruined her blouse by crying on it.

Felicity’s mom had tried to cheer her up by suggesting a mani-pedi. While Felicity appreciated the gesture, that wasn’t really the sort of thing that cheered her up. Letty texted and said that she was willing to sit through a whole season of Doctor Who if she wanted to – which was so sweet, considering Letty didn’t particularly like the show – and Dylan added that if there was anything else she needed, he was there. She had the best friends in the world, but for now, she just wanted to sit and wallow. At least she didn’t have to go back to school. Her GPA – and Oliver’s, thanks to Felicity’s efforts – was high enough that Mrs. Brightley had excused them for the rest of the year. She just had to take a few tests, but Mr. Hardison assured her that she could do that from home.

Oliver’s reaction to being kidnapped – and subsequently forced to bedrest for two weeks – was to plan the biggest 18th birthday party ever.

And that’s where he broke her heart for the last time.

Felicity had already lost herself in him so many times, had deceived herself into thinking that something could happen. But of course it couldn’t.

The first thing she learned at the party, was that the parties thrown by the Starling City elite weren’t exactly her scene. The second thing she found out was that Oliver’s best friend, Tommy, was actually a funny guy, if a bit of a flirt. He was nice, and was all for getting to know his best friend’s new ‘buddies’. He reminded her a bit of Dean, except that Tommy was a lot more earnest, he honestly just wanted to have a good time, and didn’t seem to want to cause anyone any pain. He didn’t think things through all the time – which led to a rather embarrassing situation with two girls slapping him, but that’s beside the point.

Letty was there too, but Felicity wasn’t entirely sure how to act around her anymore. Felicity had been really touched about the whole Doctor Who thing, but the first time she’d seen the girl in person hadn’t exactly gone the way she’d imagined. Letty had ran up to her… and kissed her right on the lips.

To say that Felicity had been shocked was an understatement.

Letty had apologized profusely, and had said that she knew Felicity didn’t feel the same way, but that she’d been so relieved that she was alright…

Felicity had waved it away, and pushed her own slight discomfort to the back of her mind. She hadn’t exactly seen _that_ coming, but Letty knew she didn’t swing that way, and by the next day, they were joking about it.

And then there was Oliver. He’d ignored her all night, only to suddenly drag her away from her friends to talk to her outside. “Oliver, what’s going on?” she asked, more concerned than anything.

“Nothing… Or, there is something. You shouldn’t be throwing yourself at Tommy like that, you’re only embarrassing yourself,” he said bluntly.

“What? I wasn’t throwing myself at Tommy,” she said, a little hurt that he could even think that. He looked so agitated, like something was bothering him, something big, but Felicity couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Look, I know about your little crush on me, okay?” he said. He was frowning, and sounded both bored and annoyed. “And I’m not interested, understand.”

Felicity felt a little faint. Of all the things Oliver could have said, this hadn’t been what she’d expected. And it broke her heart. But behind the hurt, anger bubbled up to the surface, so she pushed her tears away and faced him head on. “You’re an ass, you know that? I’ve been nothing but a good friend to you, and I _know_ you, I know you’re doing this on purpose, I just can’t figure out _why_?” she said angrily, glaring at him.

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I don’t care about you all that much? You’re my tutor, and you’ve helped me, great. Then I show a little gratitude and you get all gooey-eyed, it’s pathetic,” he snapped.

His words were like a knife to the chest, but again, Felicity pushed it aside, focusing on her anger and letting that sustain her. “You _do_ care, Oliver, no matter what you tell yourself, but you’re a coward, and you don’t want to admit that maybe you’re not as bad a person as you think you are. It frightens you, so you run away, just like you did every time Laurel wanted to get more serious. And even if you felt nothing, you could just say so, but you’re being deliberately mean to push me away. Well, congratulations, Oliver, you succeeded.” By now, the tears she’d been trying to hold back, were streaming freely down her cheeks. She turned and ran the other way, out of that house with its oppressive atmosphere, and into the garden.

She was so sick of trying to understand him, of giving him space and supporting him, even when he kept on hurting her. She knew he probably had some convoluted reason why he was doing this, but she didn’t have the energy to try and figure it out.

Eventually, Felicity sat down on a bench right outside the mansion. The noise wasn’t as loud here, and she was out of sight enough so that no one would see her unless they stepped outside. She really wished she could go home, but she sort of depended on her friends for transportation back to the hotel.

Felicity buried her head in her hands. Oliver was such an ass, why couldn’t he just see that she… that she loved him? Just the way he was. She didn’t expect anything from him, unlike most of his so-called friends inside the house. To her, he was just Oliver, and she was just Felicity. Why was it so hard for him to see the Oliver that she saw every day?

“Mind if I join you?” Felicity jumped at the voice coming from her right.

Quickly and clumsily, she wiped at her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I’ll move, I…” she trailed off, realizing that the person who had shown up was Tommy Merlyn. What was he doing here?

“Are you okay?” he asked gently, sitting down next to her. Felicity wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing or why, but she didn’t really care. Here was someone who knew Oliver better than anyone, maybe he could help her understand?

“I’ve been better,” she whispered, sniffing a little.

“Oliver, huh?” he said, leaning back and staring up at the sky.

It was a cloudless night, but there weren’t that many stars to see what with all the light pollution. Still, it was pretty, Felicity supposed. “How’d you know?” she asked quietly as she followed his gaze.

“He’s my best friend,” he said simply. “He might not always make the best decisions, but I know he cares about you.”

Felicity scoffed. “He has a funny way of showing it.”

Tommy looked at her again and shrugged. “Like I said, he doesn’t always make the right decisions.”

Felicity turned her gaze towards him. They weren’t even friends, but perhaps he understood. “Then why? I know he’d trying to push me away for some reason, but I don’t understand _why_.”

“He’s a complicated guy, Felicity, more so than most people realize. I don’t know why he did it, but I do know there’s no changing his mind now. You have to give him time.”

Felicity looked at the dark-haired teenager next to her. Like Oliver, he wasn’t what his reputation made him out to be either. He was a lot kinder and more considerate than she’d been told. Maybe that’s why he and Oliver were such good friends. They were both complicated guys living up to a reputation that was almost all fake.

“What if I can’t?” she asked, even quieter than before. She didn’t want Oliver to be gone from her life, but on the other hand, she had to protect her heart. It was already battered and bruised, and it was getting harder and harder to leave it unprotected.

“Well, I’m always available,” Tommy joked.

It surprised a little chuckle out of her. Tommy was a pretty funny guy. “So, am I supposed to start fawning over you now?” she asked jokingly.

“Absolutely. Hero worship is also accepted, though not required.” He grinned

Felicity laughed. It was soft, and half-hearted at best, but it was a laugh, and it made her chest feel a little lighter somehow. “Thank you,” she whispered earnestly.

Tommy’s grin grew into something a little softer. “Sure thing.” Then, his grin returned, with a wicked edge to it. “You know, I’ve never had a friend who was a girl before, with your help, I’d have no problem charming any girl.”

Felicity smiled. “Somehow I doubt you’d have a problem with that.” And just like that, she’d found a friend in Tommy Merlyn. Maybe not all the people here were fake after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, thoughts? Who wants to kill me right now? I know this was super slow burn, and you were all hoping for some good fluffiness, but I promise that will happen in the sequel, because even I am sick of the slow burn at this point. But I promise the sequel will be happier and with less heartbreak.
> 
> Little spoiler for the sequel; it will start with the epilogue of this fic, and then continue on into the 5 years that Oliver is missing (but that will be brief), and then it'll take place during season 1.


	31. Epilogue

**Chapter 31: Epilogue**

**Felicity POV**

It had been another of _those_ days. Felicity dropped her bag by the door of her dorm room and let herself fall down onto her bed. While her computer programming and engineering classes were fun, they were also hard and challenging, and – most importantly – time consuming. She had two assignments to finish by next week, and Cooper had been a little whiney about the supervirus they were creating, but she just didn't have the time.

Felicity's phone buzzed, and she grinned as she read the text. Maybe she could postpone working on those assignments one more day. Grabbing her coat, she headed straight back out, where a sleek, black car was waiting for her. She slid inside without a second thought and grinned at the driver.

"Hey Lissa, how's it going?" Katie asked, a huge smile on her face.

Felicity reached over to hug her. "Great now that you're here! I can't believe you drove all the way out here."

Katie shrugged as she pulled out and started driving. "I don't mind."

"Only because you dropped out of college and now you're bored," Felicity teased.

Katie glanced at her friend for a moment before focusing back on the road. "So, I like the hair. Why black?"

"It has purple too," Felicity said defensively. Honestly, she hadn't been certain about it at first, but Cooper seemed to like it, and her new MIT friends had assured her it was really cool. But Felicity had grown to like it.

Laughing, Katie poked her friend. "It looks good. Have you thought of blonde, though? I seem to remember it going pretty well with that goddess dress…" she teased.

Felicity glared at her friend. "I'd never hear the end of it from my mother, no thank you. And that was a long time ago." With a pang, she remembered how much Oliver had seemed to like her blonde hair. It had been 4 years, and she was completely over him, but the way they ended things still didn't really sit right with her. Unfortunately, she also wasn't brave enough to call him and make up, even though Tommy had given her his newest cell phone number.

"So, where do you want to go?" Katie asked casually.

Felicity narrowed her eyes at her friend. "I thought you'd already picked a place to eat dinner?"

Shrugging, Katie took a turn. "Yeah, but my dads always taught me it's polite to ask anyway," she replied cheekily. "We're going to Wendy's."

"Seriously?" Felicity asked, a little incredulously. "Wendy's?"

"What? They have a really good salad!"

"If we're going to Wendy's, it should be because of their frosties, not the salad. It's a fast food restaurant, you have to get a burger," Felicity protested playfully.

Soon enough, they pulled into the parking lot and trudged inside. It was a warm day, and Felicity was glad to get out of the heat. She was still pestering Katie to get a burger when she noticed the TV behind the counter. "Excuse me, could you turn that up, please?" she heard herself ask the teenager behind the counter.

It was a news report, and Felicity didn't usually watch that, but for some reason, something about it tugged at her memories. "The Queen's Gambit went down somewhere in the North China sea. The wreckage itself has not been found, but it is believed that the owner of the craft, billionaire Robert Queen, his son Oliver Queen and family friend Sara Lance did not survive. A search and rescue mission is underway, but authorities are not optimistic about finding survivors. In other news…"

Felicity stopped listening. She stopped everything. Oliver was… How could Oliver be gone?

She'd told herself that she was over him, that she barely even thought about him anymore, but now… now she felt like she couldn't breathe. In a daze, she walked out of the restaurant and back to Katie's car, vaguely aware that her friend was calling her name. Felicity stared at her phone. When had she gotten that out? She pressed the call button, trusting that her fingers had dialed the right number.

The first thing she heard was a chuckle, and her she gasped, maybe…? "It's Oliver, leave a message." Hearing Oliver's voicemail dashed any hopes she still had. He sounded so… normal, so happy… so much like the Oliver she used to know.

With shaking fingers, Felicity dialed another, familiar number. "Tommy," she breathed when he picked up. "I'm so sorry."

There was noise on the other side of the line, and Felicity had no doubt that Tommy was in the Queen mansion, waiting for news along with the rest of the family. "I can't… he's gone, Felicity," Tommy said, his voice thick.

Felicity didn't cry. She had loved Oliver, but that was a long time ago. She was shocked, and sad for her friends, but she didn't cry.

After comforting Tommy and asking about Thea – who was inconsolable, of course – she hung up the phone. Though she hadn't talked to Oliver in the 4 years since FCA – the occasional Christmas card notwithstanding – he'd always been this big, invisible presence in her life. He was always in the tabloids, or on TV, and she heard about his exploits from Tommy and Thea… and now he was gone. Now Felicity would have to re-learn to live in a world without Oliver Queen, no matter how impossible a task that seemed.

Katie was there with a hug and a sympathetic smile, but she didn't say a word, not even as they drove back to Felicity's dorm room and ate pizza and Ben&Jerry's while watching a vaguely familiar Korean TV show that they didn't understand.

It was strange… For some reason, she had expected there to be… a shift in the earth, some kind of huge… _something_. But… it wasn't exactly nothing either. There was a small part of her heart, the part that had always, inexplicably been _his_ , that was now empty, crying out for something that was not there anymore. And as she sat there, sitting on her bed with Katie, she rubbed at her heart, unconsciously hoping to soothe it back in its place, but somehow knowing… it never could again.

_The End._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now it's official. I actually get to mark this story complete.
> 
> Of course, I'm going to start the sequel after this, but still. Tell me what you loved, what you hated, who your favourite characters were, and who you disliked? I really want to know. Tell me the most memorable scene.
> 
> The sequel will be called "Never Forgotten" from the quote "She who leaves a trail of glitter is never forgotten." Kudos to ThePrinceAlwaysGetsTheGirl over on FF.N for coming up with it!


End file.
